


Demon Raised

by ScribeWire



Category: Naruto
Genre: BAMF Uzumaki Naruto, Not Canon Compliant, Protective Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama, Uchiha Shisui Lives, Uzumaki Naruto-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:15:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 41,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23585953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScribeWire/pseuds/ScribeWire
Summary: Naruto was raised by the demon in his head. Life was hard when you lived alone – alone with nothing but the demon in your mind. But Naruto was nothing if not determined.ORNaruto meets Kurama far earlier than in canon. He proceeds to make friends with him and his classmates while still saving the world. A sort of character study.
Relationships: Gaara & Ichibi | One-tail | Shukaku, Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama & Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto & Everyone
Comments: 273
Kudos: 1152





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time posting a story for public consumption. Ironically, it's not even written in my normal writing style. This is an experiment in style and formatting. It has been sitting on my computer for a while, and while stuck inside away from society, I figured this was the perfect time to take the plunge. If you recognize anything it probably isn't mine. I feel like this was probably inspired by another work I read recently, but I can't remember what it was now. If I do, I'll be sure to mention and link it in later. I plan to take this through Shippuden, though I can't guarantee regular updates.  
> As my first story, I'm still learning how the site works. If I am missing any obvious tags, please let me know. Some of them may change as I write or notice some that I'm missing. However, I don't want this to turn into one of those whose list of tags is its own story. I would like to keep them condensed, and to the point.  
> Finally (if anyone is still reading), there are some events that I gloss over or skip completely. Some of this is intentional, and some of them I just genuinely forgot about, and after noticing while reading through to edit didn't know how to add without messing everything else up downstream, and I refused to completely rewrite what I had just so I could include one scene that could have been anywhere between one sentence to several paragraphs. *shrugs* sorry-not-sorry.
> 
> Please Enjoy!

Naruto was raised by the demon in his head.

He had always heard the voice in the back of his mind, but he knew that hearing voices only you could hear wasn’t normal.

It didn’t matter that the voice in his head had a form. That it looked like a fox, but with 9 tails. Its fur was a burnt orange like the setting sun. Or perhaps the orange was closer to rust. Others would likely tell him it was old rotting blood that had dried and flaked to permanently stain. Naruto would have ignored them. Regardless of if his voice had a form, it wasn’t normal.

* * *

Naruto was an orphan. Except that the orphanage hadn’t wanted him, so as soon as he could talk and walk and sort of care for himself, he was shipped off to live on his own. The old man paid his bills and stocked his supplies and even sometimes stopped to visit for a few minutes ( _“just to check in”_ ), but Naruto took care of himself. He was 4 years old. He didn’t know he was the only one who could hear the voice then, but when he’d asked about it, the looks he received told him to never bring it up again. So, he didn’t.

It’s hard to say when he realized the voice was more than just a voice. That it belonged to a demon.

It was probably when Kurama told him. The fox wasn’t nice. It might have raised him, but it _hated_ him. But the village hated him too, and Kurama, at least, taught him the things he needed to know. The lessons were hard, and cruel, and full of biting sarcasm and taunting insults, but he _taught_ him nonetheless. For that? Naruto loved him.

* * *

The world was a cruel place. Some were lucky enough to never face this fact. Naruto knew it the moment he was kicked out of an orphanage, so unwanted not even the place the unwanted went would keep him.

Kurama eventually told him why.

The fox was a demon. Not just any demon, but the demon who had attacked the village. His father was the previous Hokage and had trapped the beast inside his own son. His own _newborn_ son. Minato and Kushina had died to save the village. They had died _damning their son_ to save the village.

Kurama hated them. Naruto didn’t. For that? Kurama hated them more.

* * *

Life was hard when you lived alone – alone with nothing but the demon in your mind. But Naruto was nothing if not determined.

Kurama tried to tell him that it was his right to hate the village. To hate the villagers that mocked and belittled and beat him for being their savior. Because according to Kurama, while his parents did the damning, it was the damned that did the saving. Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina were not the saviors of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. _Naruto_ was.

Naruto didn’t think he was anyone’s savior because he didn’t do anything except be born.

* * *

When Naruto turned 6, he entered the academy.

Life there was different, yet still the same. He was still alone. Alone except for Kurama. But now he was learning something from someone other than the fox. And if he knew more than most 6 year olds entering the academy? More than even those that came from prominent clans and had been training since they could walk? Well, no one bothered to notice.

The teachers hated him just the same as everyone one else in the village. Or at least, as much as all the other adults. It was hard to tell if the kids hated him or just found him to be an easy target because he was alone and small and easy to pick on without anyone to defend him.

Kurama was trapped behind bars with no way for his claws and teeth and tails to reach the little hellions. Kurama would refuse to ever admit that he wanted to defend the brat.

There were _some_ who were willing to spend time with Naruto, at least. There was Kiba who started simply because his mother told him _not to_ , and Shikamaru who was never told anything and couldn’t care less about the opinions of others. Choji followed Shikamaru.

And there was Uchiha Sasuke.

For a while, they were rivals or enemies or whatever term fit best. They fought like cats and dogs (an apt description given the Uchiha penchant for keeping nin-cats and Naruto containing a fox) and when they sparred, Iruka was the only teacher to reliably break it up before one of them broke.

Naruto was usually the one who broke. Sasuke had better technique even if Naruto had the raw power. This bothered Kurama far more than it ever bothered Naruto for a reason the fox refused to share.

* * *

Sasuke came to school after his clan was slaughtered and for once in his life, Naruto wasn’t the only one alone. His heart hurt more than it ever had at that realization. He would endure the loneliness forever if it meant no one else had to.

Kurama was unusually silent for several days.

When Naruto saw Sasuke sitting at the pier, alone and broken, he thought about approaching. He didn’t step off the road. He just stood there staring until the brunette turned to glare, aware of the other’s presence. Naruto didn’t approach him, but he didn’t let his face form the usual grimace it made whenever their eyes met. Even if Kurama finally spoke up to encourage him to push the other into the water.

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto was ranked dead last in his class at the academy and it was obvious the teachers expected him to fail.

Naruto didn’t pay a lot of attention to his classes. He spent most of his time listening to the lecture Kurama would give him instead. He would sneak into the library to self-study subjects that hadn’t been taught at the academy in several decades if they ever were at all.

The final exam was the simple Bunshin. For most ninja, it was laughably easy and required barely a thought. With enough practice, they didn’t even need the hand signs. Just the whisper of intent and the pulse of chakra and there it would be.

Except the Bunshin didn’t have a form. You couldn’t touch it, and it couldn’t touch you. The amount of chakra it took was so miniscule that even academy students could do it without any issue. Or, they were supposed to, anyway. But Naruto wasn’t a _normal_ academy student. Naruto wasn’t even a normal shinobi. If anyone had spent more than a few minutes with him, gotten to know him even a little, they would know that. Kiba and Shikamaru and Choji knew it. Sasuke knew it. _Kurama knew it_.

Naruto failed the final exam.

He had too much chakra to utilize such a small amount. It was too rough to maintain such a fragile form. His signs were too clumsy and his concentration poor. Regardless of _why_ , Naruto couldn’t make an acceptable Bunshin and so he failed.

His fists clenched at his sides as he stared down at the abomination that was supposed to be his copy, ignoring whatever it was that the proctor was saying as Iruka looked at him with pity and disappointment.

He was the last student to test. There was no one but himself and the proctors waiting for him to finish so he didn’t leave when he was dismissed. He continued to stand there and stare at the broken figure on the floor that _still_ hadn’t dissipated. Something in Naruto decided that he had had _enough_. For once, that something _wasn’t_ Kurama.

Blue eyes – bright blue eyes that put the sky and ocean to shame, looked up to meet the instructors sat in a line at the table in front of him. The cold ice in his gaze was the only thing that kept them from jeering him out of the room. Iruka looked concerned. _Naruto didn’t care_.

One step. Two steps. Three steps.

Naruto moved forward until the table was brushing the front of his legs and the bottom of his belly. He couldn’t see Kurama like this. Not while his attention was on the adults and the swirling hurricane that was his chakra, but he didn’t need to. He knew what he would have seen. A large rictus grin splitting a face with rows of too sharp teeth shining and dripping in the light. They would _both_ enjoy this.

It was a simple enough maneuver. One done when first practicing this particular affinity in fact. Except, academy students weren’t tested for an affinity so certainly shouldn’t know the methods for practicing it. Least of all _Uzumaki Naruto_.

None of the proctors were expecting the simple show of power from the dead last. Umino Iruka included.

Naruto placed one hand on the middle of the table with deceptive gentleness, still not breaking eye contact. He let it rest there for a few seconds. Beneath his skin and under his palm his chakra raged. It swirled and pushed and _sheared_ as only it could. Refined into the sharpest blade that not even Raiton could compete with, his chakra struck.

The table split in half. Both pieces fell the floor with a clatter, dragging down the papers with them to pile haphazardly across the edges. The looks of derision fell to looks of shock and fear.

Naruto did not soften or warm his gaze. He pulled back his hand, and then strode from the room.

For the briefest of moments, Iruka would swear he had glowed red, surrounded by a faint haze that outlined swishing tails at his back. Then he was gone, and they were left to wonder what to do. He hadn’t passed the test, but he had done what no one else could. The others voted for disqualification anyway, but Iruka wondered at his student’s scores. He wondered that perhaps, they had _underestimated_ the boy.

* * *

The Hokage himself presented Naruto his headband.

Iruka had felt the need to inform the Hokage about the display by the Jinchuuriki and the old man had deemed him fit to graduate. The other instructors didn’t know. They didn’t _need_ to know because _Iruka_ was in charge of assigning teams.

* * *

Hatake Kakashi showed up late to his meeting with the new team prepared to fail them all. He had visited their homes and they all left much to be desired.

The Elite Jounin Instructor jerked his head back and away from the eraser just as it brushed his hair. The reaction was purely instinct. For several long moments, he just stood there staring at the offending item on the ground with his heart racing.

It was obvious who had set the trap. He had known to expect one because there usually was. But this time? This time the simple antic had set off alarm bells he had honed over his many years of service first in the war that took his team, then as ANBU. It was just a chalkboard eraser but Kakashi couldn’t’ shake the feeling of dread. The feeling that something _terrible_ would have happened if the prank had succeeded.

Then he wondered if maybe it hadn’t.

“I told you!”

The girl was ignored in favor of turning his attention to the boys. The Uchiha was eyeing him, hiding the curiosity with disdain. The Uzumaki was sleeping on his desk. The Uzumaki ( _Minato-sensei’s son_ ) was pretending to sleep on his desk.

The act was enough to fool the two newly graduated Genin in the room with him, but the Elite Jounin spotted the cracked eye just peeking out between the vibrant blonde of his hair and the bright orange of his jacket. The Elite Jounin _almost missed_ the sliver of blue that indicated he was being watched.

* * *

What did he want to do?

It wasn’t a question Naruto thought of very often. Kurama, the academy, and surviving kept him busy enough he didn’t stop for idle thought.

“I want to be Hokage.” The words surprised everyone. They surprised Naruto the most.

They _didn’t_ surprise Kurama.

_ “You’re a sap. **Of course,** you want to be Hokage, you insufferable brat. Why are **you** so surprised? **You’re** the one who said it!” _

The demon went ignored by sheer force of will and years of practice. Kurama’s hobby was listing all the reasons why Naruto should hate the village and abandon it. But Naruto didn’t hate anyone.

* * *

The D-rank missions were insulting. The man they had to guard on this C-rank was more insulting.

Tazuna the bridge builder spent most of his time looking down on them because they were children. Naruto was used to being looked down on, so it was with long practice that he ignored it. Sakura didn’t notice it, too hung up in staring at Sasuke. Sasuke _hated_ it.

Sasuke was the last Uchiha and he was a prodigy. He had gone most of his life since the massacre being praised for his abilities. This attitude from the civilian who needed their protection but acted like he was better than them? It reminded Sasuke of _before_. Back when his father was alive and compared him to _Itachi_. Reminded him of when no matter what he did it was _never_ _good enough_.

If he took it out on the two men who attacked them in the middle of the road, no one said anything.

He got hits in on both of them, but only took out the one. Naruto handled the other. Sakura remained in the cart next to Tazuna, still screaming from when Kakashi had been ‘killed.’

* * *

Zabuza underestimated his opponents.

The swordsman had heard of the Copy Ninja before. Easily tagged him as soon as he was within eyesight. He knew the fight would be rough, but he was sure he could win regardless. He didn’t count on the children actually putting up a fight.

The girl’s skills were irrelevant as she remained plastered to Tazuna’s back the entire fight. At least she had a kunai in her hand.

The brunette was a surprise. His skill was far above what he was used to seeing in Genin. Quick thinking, technical skills, and even Ninjutsu to back up his talk. The kid should have known that if the Elite Jounin couldn’t keep up, he wouldn’t either.

He didn’t expect the blonde.

* * *

Naruto wasn’t going to just stand by and watch his team get killed. Kakashi was trapped in a water prison and Sasuke wasn’t enough on his own. So, he trusted their charge to Sakura and _stepped up_.

* * *

The kid came at him with the force of a storm. _Literally_.

He ran through hand signs so fast that it left Zabuza wondering if even the Copy Ninja could follow it. Then walls of wind were forcing him back no matter how hard he pushed against them.

Wind didn’t have a form like the other elements did, but that didn’t stop it from rending catastrophic damage. The water prison burst, the ground split, and Zabuza cursed.

Zabuza lost when the brunette got his shit together and added fire to the wind.

* * *

Sakura was the top kunoichi of their graduating class. Ino had been close, but Sakura had beat her.

As she watched her teammates take out a Jounin level missing ninja that had beaten _their own_ Jounin instructor, she had the sickening feeling that being the top kunoichi _wasn’t enough_.

Naruto had been ranked dead last in their class.

(The rumor mill said he had actually failed the graduation exam, but for some reason the Hokage had vetoed the decision. She heard even her civilian parents discussing it one night).

Naruto had been ranked last in their _entire_ class and he was capable of _that much_ destruction.

Sasuke kept up, adding fire when Sakura could only stare.

Sakura could see it in Kakashi’s eye though. He hadn’t expected that much from the boys either. It hurt to know their sensei thought they were going to die once he’d been caught, but she couldn’t really blame him. She had thought they were going to die too.

Now Sakura had to catch up, but looking at her teammates and their surroundings, it seemed like it would be an impossible task. 

* * *

Naruto had been raised by the demon in his head – a _true_ monster if there ever was such a thing. He was aware of this more than he was sure anyone thought. Listening to Haku spout nonsense about monsters and tools just pissed him off.

Then Sasuke, with eyes glowing red, took the senbon meant for him. As the brunette collapsed on the ground, Naruto frozen where he stood, the blonde’s eyes turned crimson to match.

For the first time, Kurama managed to reach through. The red haze burned his skin but sharpened his eyesight, his hearing, his smell. As the rage churned Naruto knew it wasn’t just his own. Kurama was filled with almost nothing but hate and it _burned_.

Naruto rarely ever gave in to _true_ anger.

But Naruto’s teammate was lying on the ground bleeding or dead, and his sensei was fighting an opponent he almost lost to last time, and _this boy_ thought he knew anything about being a monster.

“You think _you’re_ a monster? **You don’t know the meaning of the word**.”

And if Kurama bled into his voice, Naruto let him.

* * *

Kakashi should have been questioning his students. One of them was barely alive due to poisoned senbon, and another was pink all over like he had severe sunburn. With his attention on treating the boys, he couldn’t spare much for the girl stood off to the side feeling inadequate.

Kakashi should have been questioning the boys about what happened, but one look told him they wouldn’t be talking.

Sasuke was watching Naruto like he’d only just met him for the first time and was trying to figure out what motivated the blonde to introduce himself. Naruto was _not_ watching Sasuke. The blonde was quiet, withdrawn, and staring off into space. The lack of movement and noise was concerning.

He should have asked them what happened, but he already knew. He had felt the chakra in the air. The seal should probably be examined but that would require telling the boy about the demon in his belly.

Kakashi didn’t know that the demon was really in his head.

Kakashi didn’t know that Naruto knew its name.

* * *

Training changed for the entire team after returning from the fiasco of a C-rank mission that was protecting Tazuna the bridge builder.

Affinity testing was done on all three with surprising results. 

Sasuke learned Katon jutsu far faster than he learned Raiton. It likely had more to do with already knowing the fireball jutsu and the basic method of preparation and application. However, his Raiton were far more devastating.

Naruto only had to breathe to summon the wind with Fuuton. Though, once given structure, Suiton came almost as easily even if it needed more thought. Doton was a surprise, but so much harder it would have been disregarded completely if Kakashi hadn’t forced him to learn _just one_ jutsu for it.

Sakura showed some affinity for Suiton and Doton, but her chakra seemed reluctant to take a definitive shape. Ninjutsu was clearly not her specialty. Thankfully, Kakashi had a lot of tricks up his sleeve.

Sakura and Sasuke had lessons in Genjutsu when Naruto was being run into the ground to train his already monstrous stamina. 

By the time the Chunin exams came around, Team 7 was entered in as ringers.

* * *

Gaara had been raised by the demon in his head. He called it Mother.

Once upon a time, he was raised by his Uncle. But he had tried to kill Gaara, so now he only listened to Mother.

Sometimes he listened to Temari or Kankuro or Baki. And he did what his Father wanted him to, most of the time, because life was easier that way. His father’s gold sand was heavy and gross, and he didn’t like it. If he did what he was told, Father kept the gold away.

Mother became restless the moment he stepped into the foreign village. Of course, Mother was usually pretty restless. It was constantly pushing at the edges, yelling, screaming, and urging for blood. But this was a different kind of restless.

Gaara had never heard Mother whisper or sound afraid. It did both inside the village. There was a lot of shifting and paranoia and muttering. Mother didn’t ask for blood until the second exam when it was okay to take it. Even then, Mother didn’t push.

There was a boy that Mother didn’t like. Gaara could tell even if it didn’t tell him. It was strange that Mother didn’t tell him. Usually it didn’t shut up about it until Gaara had killed them.

Perhaps that’s what he should do? It solved most of his problems.

He couldn’t kill the blonde though. For all that he was the same size as Gaara and _should_ have been easy prey, he wasn’t.

Then Mother was raging about how _that boy was a monster_ and Gaara suddenly understood. They were the _same_. Raised by monsters. Feared by those around them.

Except this boy _wasn’t_ alone. There was a brunette at his side that _kept up_.

There was a part of him that knew he wasn’t supposed to kill the brunette. The war, this attack, it was all planned with _Uchiha Sasuke_ as the end goal. That and the Leaf’s destruction. But Gaara didn’t care.

No one else had noticed when Father was no longer his Father. No one noticed when Gaara stopped listening. The heavy gold sand was the only reason he ever had before.

So Gaara tried to kill them _both_.

He didn’t expect to be head-butted.

He didn’t expect to lose and still be alive.

_ He didn’t expect to make a friend. _

Mother was quiet after that. Less angry. Less violent. Mother stopped demanding blood. For once, Gaara could sleep.

* * *

Naruto knew what Gaara was as soon as he saw him fight Rock Lee.

Correction: _Kurama_ knew what Gaara was the moment he saw the fight. He knew _who_ was _inside_ Gaara. He promptly told Naruto.

* * *

Naruto didn’t realize how not alone he was anymore until the fight with Gaara when Sasuke stayed at his side. The last Uchiha was in excruciating pain from the botched seal on his neck and he still kept pace with Naruto because _he was the only one who could_.

Kakashi was handling something else and Sakura was waking everyone up.

Shikamaru was there too, but in a different capacity. It was the genius’ strategy that ultimately won the fight.

It was Naruto’s hard head that did the work.

At the end of the day, both the Kazekage and Hokage were dead from treachery. Naruto made a friend. Sasuke was still hurt.

Kakashi managed to isolate the seal, but no one could remove it. So, Naruto walked into his teammate’s hospital room at Kurama’s urging, shedding his own bandages as he went, and settled in the chair at the head of the bed.

Naruto didn’t know anything about seals. He couldn’t read them. He couldn’t make them. He _certainly_ couldn’t break them.

Kurama had scoffed at him and said his own chakra was enough to remove most seals. To eat away at the foundation until they crumbled and fell. The _only_ reason his own seal held him was because it was designed specifically for him. Minato had been a prodigy after all.

So, Naruto reached out under Sasuke’s watchful eye and pressed one finger to the inky black seal. Neither boy flinched at the burn the red haze caused.

They sat that way for several long minutes as they watched nothing happen. Then Kurama laughed in the back of his head and everything _burned_.

When they could open their eyes again, the seal was gone. Nurses were rushing into the room demanding answers as Sasuke’s monitors blared warnings, but the seal was _gone_.

Naruto was raised by the demon in his head, and for a long time the demon was the only one he had. But now he had Kakashi and Sasuke and Sakura and _Gaara_. When he returned to his own hospital room hours later, he was reminded very sternly that he had _already had_ Shikamaru and Choji and Kiba.

* * *


	2. Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke goes missing. Naruto goes to look for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have discovered that plot is difficult to write.....maybe it would be easier if I actually planned out my plot instead of making it up as I go along. Whoops.  
> Fair Warning: All of Part One, and the beginning of Part Two were written in one sitting. This was done weeks and weeks ago (this has been sitting in my computer for a while). As such, I had to juggle writing actual plot, the vague but descriptive style of this story, and adjusting back to a writing style that is not my normal while writing this. So, if you get to Sasuke's POV and think "hmm, the tone has changed" that is why.  
> This chapter is shorter than the first. I tried really hard to make them about the same length, but I just felt this was a good place to end a chapter. I'll try to make the next one longer. But as you'll see, the little changes in Part One are starting to ripple. Like the butterfly effect. So shit is starting to go down. Also, I had part of this chapter already typed when I posted Part One. I have literally nothing of Part Three even started yet, so don't expect an update for a few days. I'll try my best to be quick about it, but again, I'm making this plot up as I go along. Hopefully it turns out okay. This was originally planned as a three part story, but it's looking like it will be slightly (way) over that.  
> Finally: This chapter has swearing. *gasp* I don't think it's enough to change the rating, but let me know if you disagree. (I don't think there was any in Part One? Maybe I'm just desensitized and can't remember.)
> 
> Please Enjoy!

_When they could open their eyes again, the seal was gone. Nurses were rushing into the room demanding answers as Sasuke’s monitors blared warnings, but the seal was gone._

_Naruto was raised by the demon in his head, and for a long time the demon was the only one he had. But now he had Kakashi and Sasuke and Sakura and Gaara. When he returned to his own hospital room hours later, he was reminded very sternly that he had already had Shikamaru and Choji and Kiba._

* * *

Kurama said he hated Naruto but that didn’t stop the fox from being there whenever Naruto needed him. 

When Itachi came calling several weeks later, Kurama was even there for the people Naruto cared about.

The image of the older Uchiha holding his brother against the wall by his throat would forever haunt Naruto’s dreams. In the moment, rage boiled in his veins for the second time in his life. And it was the bridge all over again.

The burning haze, the threat to Sasuke, _the anger_. Naruto wondered if that was what hate felt like.

* * *

Jiraiya didn’t expect Naruto to step in when Itachi took out Sasuke with little effort. But he certainly didn’t expect him to do it _using the Kyuubi’s cloak_. 

It was hard to count the tails that were at his back, but Jiraiya was sure it had been all nine. Though, that should be impossible without Naruto losing his mind. The snarl that tore from his throat didn’t convince Jiraiya that he hadn’t.

Naruto managed to push the older Uchiha back enough to free Sasuke from his grip but didn’t immediately press his advantage. One hand, covered in the corrosive haze, was placed on top of the younger Uchiha’s head for a few seconds before Naruto was charging again. Jiraiya was further amazed when shortly after, Sasuke dragged himself to his feet and charged in after the blonde.

There was anger in his crimson eyes, but Jiraiya couldn’t blame him.

If Itachi’s partner hadn’t been there, Jiraiay had to wonder if the boys would have won. The disbelief in Itachi’s eyes said he wondered the same.

Jiraiya had to step in to end the fight. He didn’t win so much as make the other men back off. With two Genin, even _those_ Genin, he couldn’t risk dragging it out.

“We’ll get him next time.”

His voice was too deep and too filled with gravel to be entirely his own, but even as the haze faded, the ice in Naruto’s gaze did not. Sasuke’s expression said he hadn’t considered the possibility of confronting his brother with someone at his side. Naruto’s expression said he wouldn’t settle for anything else.

“He wants you to fight alone? Too fucking bad. He doesn’t get to decide jack shit after what _he_ did.”

The gravel was gone, replaced with iron that bled into his stance as he stalked away. The brunette at his back had a spark in his eyes that Jiraiya _knew_ hadn’t been there before the fight.

* * *

Tsunade was afraid of blood.

It was pathetic for a ninja. It was worse for a medic. Tsunade was both and twice as pathetic for it. Tsunade _used to be_ a medic ninja. Now she was a drunk and a gambler who was always in debt.

They were crazy if they thought she was fit to be Hokage.

Jiraiya had always been crazy. _Both_ of her boys had been. Though she only had the one now. The other had left to be a traitor. A psychopath.

Now Jiraiya was bringing another one. A blonde she thought looked familiar but was too small at his side.

A blonde that could use Rasengan.

Jiraiya had brought a Genin to a fight he couldn’t hope to win. Except the boy was holding his own.

Their opponent was her old teammate. He was a traitor, now, but he was still considered a legendary Sanin. And a blonde brat _barely out of the academy_ was holding his own.

It wasn’t until after the fight that she learned he was the Kyuubi’s container. By then, he had already wormed his way in and convinced her to return. Got her to agree to take her grandfather’s station and lead the village.

She was sure Jiraiya just didn’t want to deal with the paperwork.

* * *

Sasuke had been kidnapped.

Sasuke had been kidnapped and _no one_ believed him. Naruto was sure his teammate had been taken against his will, but even Kakashi had a look of pity in his eye that suggested he was simply humoring his student.

Naruto didn’t wait around to listen to Tsunade declare Sasuke a missing ninja. He barley stopped for supplies in his rush out the gate.

Naruto had spent his life pulling pranks on the village and outrunning the shinobi sent to stop him, to contain him. Sneaking past those set to watch the gate was easy. They were on guard to keep people out, _not_ to keep people _in._

Within a few leaps through the trees, a figure fell in beside him. The grip on his kunai didn’t relax until Shikamaru began outlining their plan. By the time he was done, Choji and Kiba and Akamaru and _Neji_ had fallen into step with them.

As he marveled at having people at his back, Kurama rumbled darkly in anticipation

* * *

All Sasuke could see was black. A darkness so thorough even the Sharingan couldn’t penetrate it.

And he was moving.

He couldn’t remember how he got there. There was just a vague ache in the back of his skull and a heaviness to his eyes that made sustaining his Kekkei Genkai difficult.

It felt like hours before the movement stopped. He tried to hold his breath so he could hear what was happening outside, but even sound had trouble piercing the dark.

The Last Uchiha braced himself to fight back in case he was released, hoping they were stopped because someone noticed he was missing and not because they’d reached their destination.

* * *

Neji couldn’t say why he agreed when Shikamaru asked him to go. He barely knew the Uchiha, and he certainly didn’t like him.

Yet, here he was, running through the trees to chase him down.

The mission wasn’t even sanctioned.

But then, with only an Inuzuka as a tracker, they would have been at a disadvantage. And maybe he owed it to Naruto. Or at the very least his cousin.

* * *

The brat hadn’t gone willingly like they’d been told he would. Obviously that _fool_ , Kabuto, had no idea what he was talking about. A shame, given how close he supposedly was to Orochimaru.

The Sound Four were forced to resort to abduction.

Their target had been stewing in the special container since they’d nabbed him and should be completing his transformation any second. _This_ was not why they were stopped. Orochimaru’s personal guards were arguing.

Kidōmaru wanted to let him out. He was dying to see what the boy’s power was with a Curse Seal and was itching for a fight.

Tayuya knew that pausing for such a stupid reason would put their mission in jeopardy and she _refused_ to fail. Death was preferable to failure.

Sakon didn’t give a shit what they did so long as they did _something_.

Jirōbō took the time to eat.

Of course, Kidōmaru won in the end. The box was cracked open, and Sasuke was let out.

* * *

Sasuke moved as soon as light breached the dark of his cramped prison, forcing himself to ignore the burn in his eyes from the sudden change.

His opponents were too good to succumb to such a move, but it granted him space to stretch his limbs.

Like a mantra, he repeated over and over and over again that he didn’t have to win this fight. He just had to live long enough for help to come.

He had to trust that help was coming.

* * *

He wasn’t transformed.

The brat had come out of the box swinging, kunai in each hand. But he _wasn’t transformed._

Something was very wrong. If he hadn’t transformed by the time they got him back to Orochimaru, they will have failed the mission. Orochimaru didn’t tolerate failure among his ranks.

“Where’s his Curse Seal?”

They should never have opened the box.

Now they had to get him back in it.

* * *

Something was very wrong.

The kid didn’t even have a seal and yet _they couldn’t beat him_.

The longer the fight drew on the more obvious it became that the first time they’d jumped him had been a fluke. They were all paying for Kidōmaru’s impulsiveness. Tayuya was going to make sure that Orochimaru knew _exactly_ whose idea it had been to stop and test the target.

The Uchiha’s skill was far above their expectations, but there was only one of him and four of them; five if you counted Sakon’s tag along. He would tire eventually. It was only a matter of when.

* * *

Neji spotted the fight almost at the same time that Kiba caught Sasuke’s scent. A gesture was all it took for the five-man squad to adjust their course.

As they approached the clearing, Shikamaru watched his well laid plan turn to ash.

Sasuke was more than a little worse for wear upon their arrival, but considering he was facing four opponents, Shikamaru expected him to look much worse.

Naruto disagreed. Apparently.

The big one went down first.

Naruto was a force to be reckoned with when taking his fighting seriously. Shikamaru had been there the day he faced down Gaara. Not that anyone seemed to remember passed his promotion to Chunin. He was more than aware of what Naruto was capable of. Not to mention he was a _Nara_ ; he knew exactly _what_ Naruto was.

The brutality, though, was new.

Gaara was sympathetic. Naruto went into that fight with the intent to help someone. That time the person he was helping was also the person he was fighting. This time? Naruto wasn’t fighting the person he was saving. He didn’t have to hold back.

* * *

Sasuke didn’t know how worried he’d been that he would be left to fend for himself until he saw the blonde blur slam into the biggest guy there, hard enough to keep him down.

Sasuke had been unconscious during the final part of the battle back in Wave Country. He hadn’t seen how Naruto had fought then. But he _did_ see the end result. This time was little better.

With one down, it became six-on-three and the Konoha Shinobi partnered up.

Naruto leapt across the remaining enemy to land at Sasuke’s side.

Shikamaru and Choji slid into formation with the ease of long practice.

Kiba and Neji, plus Akamaru, formed the final point of the triangle, even if Kiba was reluctant to work so closely with the person who put his teammate in the hospital.

What followed wasn’t much of a battle.

* * *

Blood was the first thing he saw. Blood and an empty box.

Kimimaro could be forgiven for his initial thought that Uchiha Sasuke had been the responsible party. Afterall, he was there because their Master was well aware of their natures. It was likely they would stop to test the boy.

Obviously, that had been a foolish thing to do.

Looking closer revealed the earth was far too trampled, far too _torn_ to have been done by just the guards and their target. Others had been there.

Kimimaro gave chase.

* * *

Kiba was certain they were all going to die. Nothing they did seemed to hurt the guy.

He didn’t know why these freaks wanted Sasuke so bad, but they were nothing if not determined. The showdown in the clearing had been tough, but decidedly one-sided with numbers on their side. This battle with the white-haired man? Was also one-sided.

And they were _losing_.

Sasuke went down first. His injuries from facing four opponents alone had slowed him down and he paid the price. His saving grace was that the mysterious group wanted him alive. So, the Uchiha was forced to watch.

Choji went next. He was the slowest in the group and after taking one of his clan’s special Soldier Pills in the earlier fight, was also lethargic.

Kiba could still hear him breathing. It didn’t sound good.

Akamaru was down after taking a hit meant for Kiba, and Neji, while still on his feet, wouldn’t last much longer.

Shikamaru was bruised but seemed otherwise fine. Kiba could still fight as long as he ignored what he was sure was a broken arm. Naruto was actually sweating.

When Neji dropped to his knees, something in Naruto changed. He suddenly began to glow red. His eyes bled into a similar shade of crimson and his pupils became slits. His nails turned to claws and Kiba could see his teeth from where he was crouched. Then there were the tails.

The blonde’s attacks were ferocious. Wind, water, earth, nails, anything he could use he did. But _nothing_ was working.

If Shikamaru wasn’t a genius, they’d all be dead.

If back-up hadn’t shown up, they’d all be dead.

* * *

Kakashi had made many mistakes over the years. And he had lost a lot of people.

Guilt was something he lived with daily. The look in Naruto’s eyes as he walked away had Kakashi feeling a different kind of guilt. One of his student’s was concerned another one had been kidnapped. Yet, here he was, convinced that that student had left of their own free will.

The moment Sakura came rushing into the Hokage’s office, panicked and stricken and yelling about how Naruto was also missing, he was fleeing through the window.

He was gone before the ANBU agent arrived to inform the Hokage that newly appointed Chunin, Nara Shikamaru was missing along with Akamichi Choji, Inuzuka Kiba, and Hyuga Neji.

Kakashi was an Elite Jounin who had once served in ANBU as a Captain for several years. Specializing in tracking only made it that much easier for him to find his wayward students.

If he was a lesser man, he would have frozen at the sight of the Genin bleeding on the ground.

He would have hesitated at the sight of the Kyuubi’s cloak and Naruto’s animalistic appearance.

But Kakashi wasn’t a lesser man.

Raiton was his natural affinity and Kakashi had been using it since he was a child on the battlefield. It sharpened blades to a degree that only Fuuton could beat.

He probably still broke several bones in his lightning coated hand as he _forced it_ _through_ Kimimaro’s own armor tough bones. That didn’t matter. As long as he got the heart.

* * *

Tsunade was a medic. There was no one better than her. _Yet_.

She met the returning retrieval team at the gates herself. It was little solace to see Kakashi and a team from Suna flanking them.

Gaara had several people aloft on his sand. Tsunade could see Sasuke, Neji, and Naruto all sprawled out and barely moving. Kiba was cradling Akamaru, but she wasn’t a vet. Movement at the edge of her awareness suggested someone was already alerting someone who was. Shikamaru was unaided.

Kakashi sprinting away from the group with a limp body in his arms drew her attention. Choji had stopped breathing. She rushed both of them to the operating room.

Shizune would handle the others.

* * *

Kurama hated people.

He hated his wardens more.

He did _not_ hate Naruto.

The brat was loud and obnoxious and _infuriating_ all wrapped up in one bright orange and yellow package. But Kurama had been with the boy for all but the first hour of his life. He had even been there while he was in the womb. _He_ had raised the boy. Not the orphanage. Not the Hokage. Not the village. _He did_.

He would admit in the privacy of his own mind alone that Naruto was **_his_**. 

Naruto felt strongly. He was a stupid child, by the fox’s estimation, because he hardly felt anything negative. The boy had only ever felt true anger twice by the Bijuu’s count. And he didn’t include his own. Naruto had been sad and lonely most of his childhood. But joy and delight were becoming more frequent since his graduation.

Naruto had never been afraid before.

Sure, the brat had been worried. Mostly for his teammates. But never _afraid_.

Kurama didn’t like it.

Naruto was unconscious after such prolonged use of his corrosive chakra. But from the confines of his prison, behind the cursed bars and the stupid seal there was nothing else he could do. His rage and hate would only make it worse.

Not for the first time, he found himself cursing Minato. Not for the first time he found himself cursing _Mito._ For if it wasn’t for that fucking _Uzumaki_ he would never have been sealed in the first place.

Going down that road, he cursed Uchiha Madara while he was at it. He was the reason Kurama was brought close enough to be sealed. It always seemed to be the Uchiha.

First Madara. Then the fool with the broken Sharingan. Now an insufferable brat.

With a growl echoing through the sewer, Kurama vowed to break his seal. He would be free of these bars. Free to help his Jinchuriki without hurting him. Free to protect what was _his_. Free to fight without restraint. He would be _free_.

He couldn’t wait for the day the world knew about Uzumaki Naruto, vessel to the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

Naruto was raised by the demon in his head. And the demon wasn’t as forgiving as its host.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but I have to stop staring at it. I barely remember this part of the story, honestly. It's been so long since I've watched it. I had to google it to remember the original events and get some kind of idea as to how the Sound Four act. Hopefully, I did it justice. Obviously though, things go down differently here.


	3. Part Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Training, training, and more training. Sprinkle in some plot. And top it off with character development.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo......writing plot is hard. Writing character development is even harder. I tried my best though. 
> 
> Hot damn this chapter is long. It's about 10 pages in word. It's mostly filler, but it was necessary to set up future plot (that I'm still winging) and especially important for future character development. 
> 
> I started this chapter on my phone. I was hit with inspiration while watching Netflix (Daredevil, specifically) but was unwilling to stop watching and for whatever reason couldn't split screen to type and watch at the same time without getting hyper focused on one or the other. So I started writing on my phone first. It took forever to fix the formatting after transferring what I'd started to word. Ugh. But hey! I was hit with motivation to crank out this long chapter! So there's that. I've about petered out though, so probably no more tonight yet. We'll see about tomorrow. 
> 
> There may be several grammatical errors because despite reading through it multiple times, I found several corrections I had to make every time and I'm sick of reading through it. I usually like to step away for a while and come back to edit, but I wanted to get this out to you guys. So please forgive any mistakes that made it through. If any of them are too egregious and impossible to ignore, please let me know and I will pop in and fix them. 
> 
> If you're still reading this, you're a champ! Now, please enjoy!

_With a growl echoing through the sewer, Kurama vowed to break his seal. He would be free of these bars. Free to help his Jinchuriki without hurting him. Free to protect what was **his.** Free to fight without restraint. He would be **free.**_

_He couldn’t wait for the day the world knew about Uzumaki Naruto, vessel to the Kyuubi no Kitsune._

_Naruto was raised by the demon in his head. And the demon was not as forgiving as its host._

* * *

Once there was a time when Sasuke was raised by people. His parents. An older brother. A multitude of relatives. An entire Clan.

But then he was raised by memories and shadows in an empty compound stained in blood. He was raised by the memories for longer than the people.

He thought about them, sometimes. The people. Usually, it was his brother. But his thoughts often spiraled darkly when he did that, so he _tried_ to think about his parents instead. It didn’t always work.

He hadn’t spiraled since before the day his brother had him by the throat.

Naruto’s obvious intent to help him in his mission calmed many of his anxieties. It reminded him he wasn’t alone. But he should have known it wouldn’t be that easy. That the thoughts wouldn’t go away just like that.

At least the nightmare was a familiar one. He’d watched his clan die so many times he stopped screaming most nights. If his raw throat was anything to go by, this was not most nights.

Waking up alone wasn’t great after his stint in the box either. The idea that someone could get the drop on him so easily was frustrating. He _thought_ he was getting stronger! He and Naruto, _just the two of them_ , had almost beaten Itachi not long ago. Then those pushovers blindsided him.

He needed to train. But first he needed someone to train _with_. Naruto was leaving with Jiraiya soon, and Sakura had been begging Tsunade for lessons in medicine. His teammates were both going to be trained by Sannin but the third was a traitor who had tried to have him kidnapped. He needed someone skilled. He would prefer unparalleled, but those were running out.

Kakashi-sensei could teach him things no one else could. He had probably hundreds of Ninjutsu under his belt _and_ he had a Sharingan. Even if only one.

But who said he could only be trained by one person? Konoha was home to experts in almost every fighting style. While Naruto and Sakura were being trained by legendary mentors, he would train under anyone who would let him.

With a plan in place, and determination to see it through, he was able to relax enough to go back to sleep. He even made it through the night without any additional nightmares.

* * *

Sakura was pissed. She was leagues behind her teammates, and she _hated_ it. She hadn’t even been _considered_ when Shikamaru made his secret team to save _her_ teammate. The hard part was knowing that she would _never_ catch up.

Why bother trying to do what they could when she knew it was impossible for her?

Instead, she’d play to her strength. She had perfect chakra control. Medical Ninjutsu was her calling. Besides, why fight _beside_ the boys when she could watch their back and keep them alive?

If she was underestimated along the way, it would only serve to make her that much more dangerous.

* * *

Naruto wasn’t sure what to think about Jiraiya. The guy had taught him Rasengan and was offering to train him further. To teach him to use the seals so common to his Uzumaki heritage. The seals that his father was so adept at. But he was kind of a jerk. If the guy had known his father, why was Naruto only _just_ learning about him?

Kurama didn’t like him. Kurama didn’t like _most people_ but was particularly vocal about his dislike of Jiraiya.

The fox remembered the old man. It was only bits and pieces because he tried to ignore Kushina as much as he could when she was his warden, but he was certain there was a connection that he was forgetting.

Naruto was willing to withhold _his_ opinion until _after_ he was done training. He didn’t need the lessons on Ninjutsu or chakra control or Taijutsu or controlling the Kyuubi’s Cloak. His chakra control would always suck. A consequence of having _so much_ of it. But he had Kurama for everything else.

He wanted to learn about seals. That way he wouldn’t have to rely on Kurama’s chakra to dissolve them. That way he could make his own. That way he could help Kurama with _his_.

Kurama knew a lot about Naruto. In fact, he knew most of what the blonde was thinking by the nature of how he was sealed alone. Factor in everything else and he knew the boy better than the boy probably knew himself. But the blonde made sure the Bijuu knew nothing about _this_ plan. He wanted it to be a surprise. Kurama had raised him. The least Naruto could do in return was make sure he wasn’t trapped behind bars.

Helping him feel closer to one of his parents was just an extra benefit.

* * *

Shikamaru was a genius. He didn’t know his exact IQ, but he knew Asuma-sensei had tested him once. He relied heavily on his intelligence during fights, coming up with plans that got him maximum benefit with minimum effort. Brains over brawn.

He had never outsmarted his father though. So, there were some out there who were smarter than him.

If he had been even a _little bit_ dumber, they wouldn’t have been able to hold off Kimimaro long enough for Kakashi to get there. They would be dead.

Choji had almost died anyway.

He didn’t need to train his mind. He could do that by playing Shogi with his dad every day, which he already did. He needed to train his _body_. He could plan all he wanted, but it didn’t mean a damn thing if he couldn’t keep up with it.

It would be grueling. It would be the hardest thing he would ever do. For someone as lazy as he was, Shikamaru knew it would be the equivalent to torture.

But he’d be damned if he let one of his friends die because he couldn’t keep up.

* * *

Choji had always been self-conscious. Fat. Some said it to his face. The rest said it behind his back. All of them made sure there weren’t any other Akimichi around to hear. He was a clan heir after all.

Fewer people said it to his face after Shikamaru started hanging around him.

Fewer people said it behind his back after Ino heard someone. And that was _before_ he and Ino were even friends. _Before_ their fathers had introduced them to each other

Choji would be forever grateful to them for that. But sometimes he wondered if all those people hadn’t had a point.

He had been the weak link after all. The one who got so hurt his heart had stopped.

His father and Shikamaru and Shikamaru’s dad and _Tsunade-sama_ had explained to him that it was a dangerous side-effect of the clan pills. That his chakra system just hadn’t developed enough to tolerate the substance yet. It caused a massive increase in his chakra output and his coils couldn’t take the stress. Supposedly, his father hadn’t used the pills for the first time until he was a Chunin and even then, had been left incapacitated for days.

 _Ino_ told him to suck it up and do something about it. Except, Choji didn’t know _how_ to train his chakra coils. No one would tell him when he asked. They just kept telling him to rest. Focus on healing. Don’t train _anything_ until he was cleared.

The little blonde girl he called his friend had scoffed. After ranting for several minutes, she had spun and looked him dead in the eye. Choji may or may not have flinched, because for all that there were monsters in his class at the academy, and for all that there were more frightening monsters like the one in that field out in the world, Ino would likely _always_ be the most terrifying person he knew.

“Have you ever heard of Senjutsu?”

Choji had not. But as Ino explained what she had secretly looked up, he grew excited. Ino had essentially stolen classified information for him _without getting caught_. And she had done it solely for him. She had no interest in the training herself.

He still took her warning of the dangers seriously. But the training to control the special chakra necessary for the techniques would improve his chakra coils in leaps and bounds.

Akimichi Choji knew a lot of monsters. Now he was ready to join them.

* * *

Ino was far more dangerous than she looked, than many believed. Normally, that was how she liked it. Being underestimated gave her a distinct advantage. Since her clan Jutsu left her body completely vulnerable, she needed every advantage she could get.

But she had grown lazy. Arrogant. Sloppy.

Shikamaru and Choji had both left to go fight powerful opponents and hadn’t asked her to go with. It was little solace that none of the other girls had been asked to go. Of course, Hinata had still been recovering from her injuries and Tenten was out of the village.

She hadn’t been asked and that was all that mattered.

She didn’t bother asking Shikamaru about it. She was under no delusions. It had been his call. And she refused to put him in that position. To make him explain or make herself listen to what she already knew.

Ino would have been a liability. Being bitter about it would change nothing.

She knew exactly how to make herself a more formidable opponent, whether she was in her body or not.

Shikamaru didn’t need her help. He would know exactly how he had to train and exactly where to get the help he needed. But everyone was coddling Choji since he returned and had needed revived in an operating room. The genius would be afraid of losing his friend for a while and would be distracted with his own feelings of inadequacy and training. So, she stepped in to help.

It should probably concern her that she was able to get the information about Senjutsu so easily. As a Genin. But then again, the warnings in the material she copied painted a painful picture about what could happen if mishandled. They probably thought that was either enough of a deterrent or would take out anyone who ignored it.

She had full confidence Choji could handle it. But she made him promise to only do the training when she was there to keep him from going too far.

Now she had to focus on herself.

Getting back into the top-secret room with all the fancy scrolls was even easier the second time around. If she weren’t so determined to stick with her boys, she would consider focusing on stealth and infiltration. Maybe she would work on that in her spare time.

Unfolding a shiny bronze scroll, she began to grin. Perfect. She would need to train her chakra reserves first. This technique with the Yamanaka Mind Transfer would drain her dry very quickly. But if she could make it work? She was sure she could become truly fearsome.

Summoning contracts were normally closely guarded and passed down from sensei to student. This one was so covered in dust it looked like the world had forgotten it existed.

Laughing to herself in a manner not dissimilar to those in the contract, she rolled up the scroll and snuck back out. She had what she needed.

Yes. Hyenas would do nicely.

* * *

Kiba was rude. He hated honorifics. He hated people that expected him to use them when they didn’t know each other even more. Respect was something he felt was hard earned.

Hell, he had spit in _his own_ _mother’s_ _face_ by turning around and befriending Naruto the very next day after being told to keep his distance from the blonde. He had only smirked when his mother found out and attempted to ground him for it. He was six then.

Now he was 13 and standing in front of his mother to ask for training.

For once his face was serious, no smirk or scowl or frown in sight. Akamaru was sat still at his feet. It was obvious his mother was unimpressed. He wasn’t expecting her to say yes. Not right away. He would have to prove himself first.

Or threaten her.

Telling her he’d go his sister, the clan heir, wouldn’t work. Whether his sister would or wouldn’t train him wasn’t the point. His sister was still training with their mother. He wanted it from the source or not at all.

Which is why when she laughed at him and dismissed him back to his Genin team, recommending he go to his sister for whatever clan Jutsu _she_ thought he was ready for, he finally bared his teeth in a vicious grin. And _threatened_.

He’d go to Hatake Kakashi for training if she didn’t take him on herself. The Inuzuka were not the only clan to have animal ties. They weren’t even the only clan to have _canine_ ties. The Hatake had a different style and method but he figured he and Akamaru could adapt and adjust just fine. The best part was that he wasn’t bluffing. If his mother held fast to her refusal, he really would ask Kakashi to train him in the Hatake style. The man was the last of his clan anyway, so Kiba was the only way it would be passed down outside of his own Genin who wouldn’t be able to use them properly.

So _maybe_ he was planning to ask the man regardless of his mother’s answer. But she didn’t need to know that. Her answer simply determined if he did it in secret or out in the open.

Sasuke had been spotted with several other sensei in the village as well as with several Jounin who did not currently have Genin, so Kakashi would have the time.

Something in Kiba’s expression must have belied how serious his threat was because his mother stopped laughing abruptly. Then she _snarled_. Kiba just smiled wider.

She agreed. He would begin training with her next week after she got back from her next mission.

Kiba left the room with a mock bow.

“What do you think, Akamaru? Where would be the best place to look for Kakashi?”

With the little white dog on his heels, Kiba took off to arrange his extra, _secret_ , training. If he couldn’t rend flesh and bone with his bare hands by the time Naruto got back from his training trip, he hadn’t trained hard enough.

Kakashi froze when the Inuzuka asked him to train him as a Hatake. When the Jounin tried to explain that he was a child when his father had killed himself, Kiba called him on the bullshit. Pointed out he was a genius _without_ the Sharingan eye. _Yes,_ he knew about that.

It took an hour. Kiba spent an _hour_ arguing with the man before he had given in and agreed to train him in the Hatake clan style. Had agreed to keep it a secret.

Kiba pretended he didn’t see the shine of tears in his eye or the catch in the man’s breath as he bounded away to annoy Shino.

* * *

Hinata was a clan heiress. Hinata was _supposed to be_ a clan heiress. But she wasn’t a genius, or a prodigy and she was only average with the Hyuga’s Gentle Fist. So she wasn’t.

Her younger sister was the heiress. It wasn’t technically official, but everybody in the clan knew it.

Hinata was honestly surprised she didn’t have the Caged Bird seal yet.

Her father stopped training her years ago. He spent most of his time training Hanabi and Neji. Since the fiasco that was her first Chunin exam, Neji had taken to training her at least once a week. Usually more.

Hinata knew something had to change. This arrangement wasn’t working. Sure, she’d improved tremendously under her cousin’s tutelage. More than she ever had with her father. But the style just didn’t seem to work for her. It was her clan’s fighting style, passed down for generations since the clan was founded, but it wasn’t _her_ fighting style. Except she didn’t know how to find her own.

Then Uchiha Sasuke showed up to the compound.

She didn’t know how he go into the compound. The guards were strict. _No one_ who wasn’t a Hyuga was allowed in unless they had an appointment with her father.

He wanted training.

Neither her nor Neji knew how to respond. But Sasuke was serious. He was standing there, asking them to teach him the Gentle Fist. Neji was dismissive and condescending and then enraged. Sasuke was ordered to leave before he was escorted out. The younger boy seemed to contemplate the threat for a long minute as if debating if it was worth it to start a fight. Then he shrugged carelessly and turned on his heel to stride out.

For a brief moment, he locked eyes with Hinata and nodded subtly in a gesture for her to follow him. She thought she’d imagined it.

An hour later when they were done training, Neji off to meet his team and her left to her own devices, she found the last Uchiha leaning against the compound wall just outside the gate. The guards were watching him suspiciously.

Hinata blinked at the sight, but he didn’t acknowledge her. So, she continued to one of the more secluded but still public training grounds. Sasuke followed just close enough that he remained within the range of her passive Byakugan, but far enough away that he was several minutes behind her. If it were anyone else, she’d be afraid she was being stalked. But he walked right up to her once they were at the grounds and didn’t pretend to hide. He didn’t apologize for following.

“I propose a trade.”

A trade? What could an Uchiha and a Hyuga possibly trade one another? Hinata listened anyway. And then she agreed.

She would teach him the Gentle Fist. He didn’t care that she wasn’t the prodigy her sister or cousin were, or the master her father was. He didn’t care that the Sharingan did not work the same way the Byakugan did and therefore likely wouldn’t be able to use the technique to its full extent. If at all. He wanted to learn it anyway.

In exchange, he would train her. When asked in what, he had shrugged and offered her anything. _Everything_. He would teach her every Taijutsu style he knew, was in the process of learning, and planned to learn until she found one that worked for her. He would teach her any Ninjutsu she wanted or was capable of to supplement her style. Even if it meant learning it himself first. He offered to teach her Genjutsu too, just to round things out, but admitted he’d be learning that from _her_ sensei and so they may as well do that together.

Hinata didn’t care much for power. It was the reason she wasn’t truly upset about being passed over for clan heiress. Well, besides the sting that came from being ignored by her own family. But she didn’t want to be weak. She didn’t care about _power_ , she wanted to be _strong_. _There was a difference_.

Sasuke agreed to help make her strong. Or, at least, strong ** _er_**.

So, Hinata reached out and shook his hand to make the first amicable deal between an Uchiha and a Hyuga since the founding of their clans.

Then Sasuke admitted he’d gotten into the compound by setting up a meeting with her father under the pretense of a possible arranged marriage. The meeting had fallen apart when Hiashi mentioned Hanabi, not Hinata, and Sasuke dropped the bomb that he was _actually_ interested in their clan fighting style, not a marriage with anyone. He was surprised he had been allowed to leave on his own and subsequently wander the grounds until he found her. He had expected to be killed on the spot.

Hinata hadn’t laughed so much and so freely in a very long time.

* * *

Shino easily spotted the changes in his teammates. They weren’t trying awfully hard to hide it. Or they were awfully bad at hiding it.

Kiba was exhausted and bruised but borderline feral in his excitement despite that. Hinata wasn’t using the Gentle Fist and often broke her form, but when she landed a hit it _hurt_. Hinata had also stopped stuttering.

Shino was happy for his teammates. One was the second child of a clan head and the other was an heir that was passed over in favor of the second child. But he was an heir expected to take over his own clan. He would _not_ be left behind.

When Sasuke stopped by for Genjutsu lessons, he joined him. Neither Kiba nor Hinata had the skill for it, so joined only occasionally to learn the different ways to identify and break them. But Shino wanted to _cast_ them. To weave illusions so real his opponents no longer recognized reality. Had no choice but to stand there while he killed them. Or restrained them. Whatever the mission called for.

He didn’t even need to ask his father for additional training with his Kikaichuu. His father took one look at him and knew.

He worked with his Kikaichuu, breeding and re-breeding until his hive was highly specialized. His insects were able to detect and siphon chakra so completely, he would only have to worry about running out of chakra if his hive was completely destroyed. So long as one bug remained, he could keep fighting.

Once that was done, he continued breeding them until they were so poisonous, he had to take regular doses of antidotes for weeks before his body built up enough tolerance he wouldn’t die from exposure to his own Kikaichuu.

He decided then to learn more about poisons after that. The poisons lessons in turn led to medic lessons. He didn’t plan to learn as many different arts as Sasuke, but the more he knew the better.

Shino had always been quiet. He faded into the background on purpose. Having such eye-catching teammates only helped this. Being in the background didn’t mean being left behind. It meant having a better view of the battlefield.

* * *

The Hyuga Clan was cruel. Neji learned this when he had a seal that could kill him placed on him as a child. He learned it again when his father died shortly after so the clan head wouldn’t have to. After that, his anger blinded him. He was so caught up in his own suffering he didn’t see anyone else’s.

He lost sight of the forest through the trees.

Hinata didn’t have the seal. Her father wasn’t dead.

But Hinata was no longer heir, which meant she would likely receive the seal in the future. Her father was alive and still all but abandoned her. Neji had tried to kill her.

There was a time when Neji would have done anything for his younger cousin. She had always been shy and timid and once upon a time, Neji had reacted with a vicious protectiveness and a vow to never let anyone hurt her.

He broke that vow with his own hands.

But his cousin was everything he wasn’t and had accepted his apology with an easy smile. She never flinched away from him. Not before, and not after. He clung to that like it was a raft and he was drowning. Promised to make it up to her. So, he started training her whenever he could.

He didn’t think he would ever forgive his uncle for everything he had done, but he could tame it enough to learn from the man. Then he would do what the Clan Head wouldn’t and teach Hinata.

Neji didn’t know why Hinata was passed over as clan heir. She was gifted. Far more than anyone gave her credit for. Once he realized she understood things differently than he or Hanabi, he began explaining them and demonstrating them differently. Her improvement was astounding.

Then she began training with the Uchiha.

Neji wasn’t stupid. He was hailed as a genius, actually. It wasn’t hard to see that his cousin’s power and form were different after his visit.

There were days she insisted he help her with the basics of the Gentle Fist that she already knew. _Insisted_ he reteach her until she could do it perfectly. _While blindfolded and her Byakugan deactivated_.

Then there were the Jutsu. The first time had obviously been an accident. Hinata forgot who she was training with and used a Ninjutsu he didn’t remember her knowing or learning. Then he brushed away her fear and corrected her form to compensate.

Hinata wasn’t the only one seeking alternate training avenues. Neji trained with Gai-sensei more often. Using Gai-sensei’s methods. He now also wore his own set of training weights on both his ankles and wrists. He would take them off once a week to train alone late at night so that he would know how to compensate in real battle when he took them off.

After a particularly brutal training session with Tenten, Neji cornered Gekko Hayate for Kenjutsu lessons. Neji had never seen a Hyuga wield a sword. Learning how to do so while also using the Gentle Fist was arduous and resulted in countless injuries.

The grin Hinata gave him when he finally walked into their training with his sword on his hip made it all worth it.

He would not fail again.

He would not lose himself again.

* * *

Very little genuinely upset Lee. He could not manipulate chakra once it was projected outside of his body. So, while he could walk on water, climb surfaces, and activate some basic seals, he was unable to use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. He was used to being looked down on and belittled.

Learning that he may never walk again let along be a shinobi? _That_ upset him.

But he was better now. Tsunade-sama had fixed him. Well, he was _getting_ better anyway. He was sure it wouldn’t be too long before he was back to normal. In the meantime, he was stuck on light duty. Something even _Gai-sensei_ was enforcing.

One day, he was hit with inspiration. Sakura-san was doing his check up as part of her training with Tsunade-sama watching closely.

“How do you do that?”

Sakura was confused by the question. Understandable. So, he explained.

How did she make her hands glow? How did she get his skin to stitch itself back together? How did she know what was wrong with him just by waving her chakra coated hand over him? How did she coat her hand in chakra like that? Was it different from other Ninjutsu?

Sakura-san couldn’t answer a lot of his questions. But Tsunade-same could. _And he understood_. She made it sound so easy.

Just to be safe, he made sure he was allowed to train his chakra so long as he didn’t stress his body. He was.

Lee hadn’t known how he was going to keep training. Sure, his Taijutsu could always be better. Gai-sensei was a great teacher. But Lee would just be doing the same things he already was, just to a greater degree. That _wasn’t enough_. He needed to be better.

He just hoped Tenten forgave him for taking lessons from her idol.

He was sure she would when he would heal her for the first time.

Turns out? His chakra control is excellent so long as he doesn’t change its nature or push it too far away from his body.

He took twice as long as Sakura to fix his fish for the first time. But Tsunade-sama reassured him it was still far faster than most.

Lee was so happy he cried.

* * *

Tenten had been working with storage seals and weapons since Gai-sensei had first shown the seal to her. She could write her own and modify someone else’s mid battle. But that was as far as her sealing knowledge went. It was as far as it needed to go.

Now she wanted more.

Jiraiya was the only seal master in Konoha. He wasn’t the only one well versed in seals, but he was the only _master_. And he was leaving.

Tenten managed to corner him a few days before he left and begged basic lessons from him. He gave her a couple of scrolls on the foundations and shooed her away.

She went to Kakashi first because there wasn’t much he didn’t know. She had been right. He knew a fair amount about seals. Or at least the basic ones. He agreed to help her learn the fundamentals but then he would have to send her to someone else if she wanted to keep learning.

He introduced her to someone named Tenzo. Tenzo told her to call him Yamato. She went with Senpai instead, forgoing any other name. He pretended to be annoyed.

Once she had a routine down, she went to Asuma. She was able to use almost any weapon. Now she wanted to channel her chakra through them. That was the man’s signature. Sasuke didn’t seem to have gotten around to pestering him for lessons in anything _yet_ , so he only had his own team of three. He agreed without much fuss.

Shikamaru promptly demanded weapons lessons in exchange for access to his sensei. Tenten agreed.

She found out several things. Sealing was _a lot_ harder than she’d expected it to be based on how easy she picked up the storage seal. She was a great teacher. Or Shikamaru was a fast study. Or both. And she had an affinity for Raiton.

She couldn’t do any Raiton Jutsu. But she could channel it through her weapons with devastating effects.

She also learned that Fuuton ripped through Raiton with ease.

Maybe she should learn blacksmithing so she could replace all the weapons she lost to her new training?

* * *

Before Naruto and Sakura and Sasuke, Kakashi was certain he would never have a Genin team. None of the students he was assigned could pass his test. He had been sure they wouldn’t either.

He’d almost been right.

Looking back, Naruto had to have been holding back. Looking back, he was sure Naruto had seen through the test from the get-go. The blonde brat had launched an overzealous and obvious frontal attack, chattering and yelling the entire time. It had been distracting enough that the other two wouldn’t have had too much trouble sneaking up on him to steal a bell. Sakura especially with her low chakra reserves.

They hadn’t though. Kakashi had tied Naruto to the posts because he hadn’t tried to hide. Hadn’t tried to act like a Shinobi on a mission.

He had whined and begged so much he annoyed his teammates into breaking the rule to feed him.

It was a tenuous pass, but a pass, nonetheless. And looking back, Kakashi was certain the blonde had been grinning at him with a knowing spark in his eyes.

Kakashi hadn’t expected much from them though because they had _barely_ passed. He had only passed Minato-sensei’s test because he had _pretended._ His sensei had known and passed them anyway and his teammates ended up dead.

So, Kakashi swamped them in D-ranks and avoided getting attached.

The C-rank was _supposed_ to teach they had a long way to go. It _wasn’t_ supposed to change to an A-rank and _nearly kill them_.

Of course, it was too late by then. He’d gotten attached without even trying. He hadn’t been so scared as he was then since the night the Kyuubi attacked. Since he lost Minato-sensei.

He refused to lose another team. It made him strict and borderline harsh in his training. But the brats took to it like fish to water. Well, the boys had. Sakura was a struggle until he noticed her problem. He switched to focusing on her control since she struggled with Ninjutsu. He taught her how to augment her own body with it. By the time the exams rolled around, she was punching through boulders and uprooting trees. If her reserves and confidence and motivation hadn’t been so low, her bout with Ino wouldn’t have ended in a draw.

But now two of his students were leaving him for other sensei. He didn’t blame them. He couldn’t teach them the things they were looking to learn. He only knew the basics of seals. Enough to make his own storage scrolls and exploding tags and to copy other people’s seals. And the only medical Jutsu he knew was how to dull pain and clot blood. Stop-gaps to keep him fighting.

Sasuke stuck around. Kakashi was surprised at first. He thought the kid would have run off to someone else the first chance he got. But then he pointed out that Kakashi was still his best bet. He only had one Sharingan and had never had any formal training since he was accused of being a bloodline thief, but he had more than Sasuke. Subsequently, he had a hell of lot more Jutsu, too.

He couldn’t be upset when Sasuke took time to train with other people as well because then Inuzuka Kiba was asking to be trained as a Hatake. The kid was essentially asking to be made Kakashi’s heir. The man didn’t think the Genin knew the full extent of what his request meant, but he made very convincing arguments. By the end of it, he had another student. And an heir. Tsume was a fool for focusing on her daughter so much. He agreed to keep it a secret, but he didn’t tell Kiba it was because it would make the look on Tsume’s face that much more satisfying when he officially named Kiba his heir down the road.

And then Tenten showed up. She wanted his limited knowledge on seals.

He wasn’t surprised that Jiraiya had turned her away. The man hadn’t wanted another student after Minato-sensei. Only tolerated Kakashi because of his link to the man’s deceased student.

Kakashi didn’t approve of the him running from his Godfather duties. But village politics were complicated, so he tried not to judge a situation he didn’t know everything about. Watching him walk out of the village with the blonde that knew nothing about that was still one of the hardest things he ever had to do.

So of course, the Sennin turned away the eager girl wanting to know about an art only he could really teach. Kakashi only taught Tenten as long as he did because it took that long for him to convince Tenzo to take her on. The younger man was the next best person in Konoha when it came to seals. Kakashi didn’t count Danzo.

Tenzo was trying to go by Yamato now. He didn’t hide his pleasure at Tenten’s ‘senpai’ though.

It was obvious that the Rookie 9 plus Team Gai were all using Naruto’s training trip as their timeline. No one knew how long the blonde would be gone, but they were determined to be stronger when he got back. Kakashi was sure he would pick up more students in that time.

Konoha was turning into a powerhouse.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look! Lots of POV's! I feel like Sasuke turned into a "Where's Waldo" in this one. He's got several cameos in other people's POV's. I was gonna throw in a line in his section about him refusing to wear green spandex. In fact, it was in the original draft. During a read through I took it out though cause it kind of broke the tone of his POV a little too much. But just know, he will be training with Gai. Fear not. 
> 
> I bet you thought I forgot about the bell test, didn't you? Ha ha. Joke's on you, cause I did. Whoops. It wasn't until, like, my third read through of the beginning that it occurred to me that I forgot to write that scene. But I couldn't write it the way I wanted to without having to completely redo the Wave Arc scenes and I really liked those and wasn't willing to do that. So you got it now. 
> 
> I am trying really hard to put character development in this story. Some characters are lot more obvious than others. Some I am able to do subtly, some are already completely different. I tried very hard not to bash Sakura. Too much. I hope I did her justice. Because honestly? I hate her. The only character I hate more than her, is Karin. It's probably part of why her section is so small. I hope to give her a little more "screen time" in the future. If it starts to seem like I'm bashing her down the road, please call me out on it. That is not my intent for this story. Ah, but Jiraiya is bashed a little bit. Just a little. I promise, I do like Jiraiya. But I need to bash him a little bit. I had sort of planned to give him a POV this chapter. But it didn't happen. So I'll try to put him in the next one. By then, I'll probably have to add some more character tags. We'll see.
> 
> But I bet you didn't see half of that shit coming. Did you? Sage Choji, Ino with HYENA summons, Jack-Of-All-Trades Sasuke (Master-of-Many), Swordsmen Neji, Genjutsu expert Shino, and Medic Lee?! If someone honestly comes at me and says they saw any of this coming, I'll give you a prize. Cause I didn't see half of that shift coming until I wrote it. The prize will be my respect because that's all I have to give right now. And maybe a shoutout. 
> 
> But enough talking! From me anyway. Feel free to leave a comment below with thoughts and feelings, or even suggestions for plot...cause I'm new to this. Most of my stories don't make it past the initial scene I have in my head so I'm kind of panicking. Please send help. No guarantees I will accept it, but they say it's the thought that counts. 
> 
> Until Next Time!


	4. Part Four - Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New POV's. A plot twist - can you spot it? And a Time Skip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hit a bit of a wall with this one. I had a vague idea about who I wanted in it but no idea where to take them. The first section was written a day or two after Part Three was posted, then I hit the wall. I was inspired tonight (this morning?) and cranked this out. I was aiming for 4,000 words, but didn't quite make it. Mostly because Sasuke's an asshole and was like "nope, this is where you're ending it," so blame him. Also, it's like 3 am (probably later by the time I edit formatting) and I'm tired. Hopefully my inspiration doesn't wane. But hey! We're past the 30 page mark in Word! (32 and counting - single spaced, because I hate double spacing).
> 
> Strong language is used with more frequency this chapter due to the nature of one of the POV's. Though, honestly, as they get older, stronger language will be used more frequently. It shouldn't be excessive, and I don't think it requires a rating change, but if you disagree with me, PLEASE let me know. That's a fairly simple request I can accommodate easily. Whether it's changing the rating, or changing the language. 
> 
> Please Enjoy!

_It was obvious that the Rookie 9 plus Team Gai were all using Naruto’s training trip as their timeline. No one knew how long the blonde would be gone, but they were determined to be stronger when he got back. Kakashi was sure he would pick up more students in that time._

_Konoha was turning into a powerhouse._

* * *

Peace.

Peace was an illusion. The hopes and dreams of the gullible. There would never be _true_ peace in the world. No one seemed to understand that.

Delusional. That was probably the best way to describe anyone who thought peace was possible. Delusional was also probably the best way to describe him. But at least he knew he was crazy. War and trauma tended to do that to a person. It wasn’t like he was letting it stop him.

He would have his peace. He didn’t care what he would have to do to get it. He didn’t care that it wouldn’t be real. All that mattered was that it _felt_ real. That he would finally be able to rest.

Plans were in place to obtain most of the Jinchuriki. They already had the Yonbi and the Gobi. The Sanbi didn’t currently have a host thanks to Yagura dying before it could be extracted, but that would simply make it easier to contain once they found it. The Nibi and the Nanabi were being tracked. It was mostly a matter of finding the right timing.

The Rokubi was currently off the grid. Finding it was their current priority, but he didn’t expect much trouble once that was done.

The Ichibi, Hachibi, and Kyuubi were the only ones of actual concern. All of them were deeply integrated into their village and would be hard to separate enough to extract without attracting more attention than he wanted on them at the moment.

It was a good thing he was a patient man.

He had no doubt the others would successfully obtain all the Tailed Beasts. If they couldn’t, they were of no further use to him.

He didn’t bother trying to suppress his grin at the news of the Kyuubi leaving Konoha, safe behind the gaudy orange mask and the projection as he was. He would need to speak to Nagato about who would be best equipped to take on the brat.

* * *

This wasn’t good. He had been working for years, _so many years_ , to finally bring Mother back. He had spent _generations_ manipulating things from the literal shadows to get to this point. Now everything was at risk.

His main puppet didn’t seem to see the problem. Didn’t know _how much_ was at stake. The idiot was so focused on manipulating his own puppets to reach _his_ goal that he didn’t see that it was all coming undone at the seams.

His curse had been broken.

He couldn’t blame his puppet. It’s not like anyone else knew about it. That was the best way to keep a secret after all. Tell no one.

The reincarnations had been fighting each other since the first. Since the two some would technically call his nephews given whom he called mother. It didn’t stop him from hating them. They didn’t matter. None of it did. Only Mother mattered.

_They were ruining it_.

He was beginning to think it might be best to scrap everything and start again. Time was on his side. If he did it right, he would only be losing one generation. Surely the next one would be better?

If he really wanted to eliminate the risk, he would need to establish a new curse. It was safest. The Uzumaki and the Uchiha weren’t just _not fighting_ , they were _friends!_ Useless. The curse would never pass on and he couldn’t anchor one with them.

Uzumaki and Uchiha. It was almost as good of a combination as the Senju and Uchiha had been.

Perhaps that was the problem. The Uzumaki complicated everything they touched. Why did one of the reincarnations have to be an Uzumaki? Not to mention a Jinchuriki.

His puppet thought the brat leaving the village was the perfect opportunity. He disagreed, but he wasn’t in a position to contradict them. Under any other circumstances, it would be. But the brat wasn’t what he had expected.

Konoha was always uneasy of their Jinchuriki. Whether that was because of the potential for the beast to be manipulated with the Uchiha’s Doujutsu, or just an innate uneasiness didn’t matter. It had been working well with his plans. _This_ Jinchuriki had almost been perfectly isolated. But then he made friends. Now he wasn’t alone. Looking back, _none of them had been!_

Mito, the first, was married to one of the reincarnations. Kushina, the second, birthed the next reincarnation. And Naruto, the third, _was_ the reincarnation. On top of that, the first two were married to Hokages. With the ongoing trend, this one was likely to _be_ Hokage.

Why hadn’t he noticed that sooner? Was it significant? Was it the beast’s doing?

This wasn’t good. He was beginning to doubt and question things. He needed to regroup.

His puppet could do what he wanted with the Kyuubi’s vessel. If he succeeded, then all the better. If he failed, then he would need a new plan already in place.

He melted back into the tree just after watching the blonde Genin shear a boulder in half with his palm and chakra alone. He spared a thought to find it interesting the Sannin wasn’t around.

* * *

Contrary to popular belief, Uchiha Itachi loved his brother.

He had killed every other Uchiha living in the village for him. He had left the village for him.

Sarutobi and Danzo had been under the impression he did it for the village.

They were wrong.

It was for Sasuke. Everything was for Sasuke.

Making his brother hate him had been the hardest thing he ever had to do. It was harder than killing his own parents. But it was the only way to ensure his brother’s survival. The only way to make sure he didn’t leave the village and the protection it offered him. Sasuke had to hate him. Itachi wouldn’t let anyone else kill him.

Except, Sasuke would.

When he had shown up with orders to take the Jinchuriki, intent on only checking on Sasuke, his little brother was not as consumed with hate as Itachi had intended him to be. Even after forcing the cruel Genjutsu on him again. The very Jinchuriki he’d been sent to take had stepped in. Had disrupted the illusion with a simple _pat on the head_. And then the pair of Genin had attacked him in tandem.

He hadn’t been using his Sharingan above the basic activation, but he was still impressed to see they’d pushed him hard enough that if the fight had been serious, serious to _him_ , he would have been forced to use more.

Sasuke likely still hated him but it didn’t consume him.

Itachi kept a close eye on his brother, despite the risk. Despite the pain. It took more self-control than he’d had to use in a very long time not to kill Orochimaru after Sasuke’s attempted kidnapping. But watching his brother’s skill? Watching people care for his brother and his brother care in return? It almost made it worth it.

It also made Itachi question his decisions for the first time since he made them.

Senju Tsunade was now Hokage. Despite all the evidence suggesting she should, the woman had not declared Sasuke a Missing Ninja. She did not reprimand the retrieval team for the unsanctioned mission.

Itachi wondered what would happen if he walked into the village and confessed.

Sarutobi was dead but Danzo not.

Would Tsunade believe him? Would she move against Danzo? Would Sasuke forgive him? Would Sasuke forgive the village? Would it mean having a life with his brother? Would he finally be able to retire?

It was becoming hard to ignore that siren’s song. If he did return, it would at least be over. The lying. He would be free even if he would be dead. Executed for treason. But that would mean leaving his clansman free to plot unfettered.

Uchiha Itachi loved his brother, and for him he could do anything. The clansman would be a threat. Itachi couldn’t let that stand. So, for a little while longer at least, he would stay where he was.

That didn’t mean that Danzo was not also a risk.

A risk that needed taken care of.

Itachi had crows for summons. Sending a message would be easy. It was just a matter of sending it to someone who would believe him.

Itachi loved his brother, but he wasn’t blind. Not yet. Sasuke would not believe his letter. Tsunade might. She was out of the village during the time of the massacre. But she was Hokage now. There was the slight chance she was briefed on it. Unlikely, given Danzo’s habit of holding his cards against his chest, but still possible.

Hatake Kakashi, however, had been embroiled in village politics since his father’s suicide. The man may doubt the letter’s voracity, but he would not dismiss it entirely. The man would be forced to investigate _just to make sure_.

Itachi did not smile as he watched his most important crow leave. But he did breathe a little easier. The siren had softened her song. His mission could continue.

* * *

The sound of wings beating, different from the surrounding wildlife, drew his attention to the sky. Tilting his head to better pick up the sounds, he tracked the bird’s route above the trees.

He had been blind for several years now, but it still fascinated him how well his other senses had grown to compensate for it. His hearing. His sense of smell.

His chakra detection.

The bird had more chakra that a regular bird. It was likely a summons.

The bird had a small, dense spot of chakra around where he guessed the head was. A _familiar_ chakra.

Which meant he knew that summons.

He grinned as he turned to follow it. Moving with intent and a destination for the first time since he lost his eyes.

* * *

Jiraiya didn’t know what to think about Naruto.

He looked too much like Minato for him to be completely comfortable around the kid. He knew it wasn’t fair, but he couldn’t change the truth.

But there was something about the kid that was distinctly _not_ Minato. Jiraiya initially thought it was Kushina. It wasn’t like Naruto had to be just one of his parents. But Kushina was in his loud, declarative speech. Kushina was in his massive natural chakra reserves. _Kushina_ was how the kid didn’t seem to be afraid of anything.

This something else wasn’t Kushina either.

Except Jiraiya didn’t know what else it could be.

Naruto picked up Rasengan far faster than the Sannin expected him to. The kid struggled for three days. Then he stopped in the middle of practicing. Frozen as if caught in a Genjutsu. From his place hidden out of sight, Jiraiya had thought someone had found them. Then the kid burst back into movement with this look that all but screamed understanding. _And used Rasengan perfectly._

Jiraiya chalked it up to a fluke. Minato had made that jutsu, as incomplete as it was. It made sense his child would be equally inclined to use it.

But it kept happening.

Naruto made it clear almost immediately after leaving the village that he was only with Jiraiya for his seal knowledge. Hell, the kid had told him that _before_ they left. Jiraiya had insisted he would teach him. If he was being honest, he had only done so to get Naruto to follow him. As the Jinchuriki, he had to know _exactly_ how important his safety was. How many people out in the world would hunt him if he wasn’t careful.

And he may not be convinced that the village was the safest place for the kid.

Tsunade called him a hypocrite.

He didn’t correct her.

Except, Naruto was making it hard to continue avoiding the Fuinjutsu training. Every time he gave the blonde a different jutsu to learn instead, he got it down in a couple of days at most. He stopped giving the kid the excuse that it was something necessary for teaching Fuinjutsu. He was sure Naruto never believed him anyway.

But Naruto was already so much like Minato it hurt to look at him. How was he supposed to teach the kid the thing that made his father so terrifying on the battlefield? If Naruto became anymore like Minato, Jiraiya wouldn’t be able to be around him at all.

“If you’re not going to teach me Fuinjutsu, why am I here?”

Then there was that _something else_. Kushina wouldn’t have waited so long to ask him directly. Kushina wouldn’t have asked, she would have demanded. Minato would have smiled and laughed until Jiraiya finally gave in.

Minato’s eyes never looked so cold. Even when he was leaving the battlefield, covered in blood after slaughtering an entire army.

Kushina’s face was never so hard.

He gave in. Of course, he gave in. He couldn’t deny Minato something when he wanted it. Apparently, he couldn’t deny his student’s _son_ either.

* * *

Naruto took to Fuinjutsu faster than he did anything else.

It was hard for him to say if it was an innate ability, whether his personally or from his extinct clan, or if it was Jiraiya’s teaching.

The man wasn’t the best at explaining jutsu. Naruto didn’t understand a lot of what the man was telling him most of the time. Kurama would explain it to him later in a way that made sense. But with seals?

It was obvious the older man was afraid of Naruto messing something up. He took much more time and care in explaining them to him. Naruto soaked up every word. It was easy to understand for him. In a few months, he was reading the components like an actual language.

The best part about it was that it was all him. With Ninjutsu, Kurama helped a lot. The beast knew chakra better than anyone else ever could. Seals were different. He wasn’t manipulating the chakra directly when he used a seal. He put ink to a page and then loaded it with chakra. The seal did all the work after that.

Kurama didn’t know anything about seals. The Kyuubi was learning them right alongside Naruto. It was _Naruto_ who was good at them.

After a year of traveling and learning, after eight months of studying Fuinjutsu, Jiraiya finally taught him the Hiraishin.

The seal was simple in its complexity.

It was the hardest thing Naruto had to learn.

If he wasn’t careful, his chakra would overload the seal. If he was channeling Kurama, the seal would disintegrate. Naruto and Kurama knew what the problem was. They were using the time Jiraiya was talking to his contacts to rewrite the seal to work for them.

Jiraiya didn’t know they were already experimenting with writing seals. Of course, Jiraiya was also unaware that Naruto knew Kurama’s name.

The Sannin had told Naruto about the demon in his belly when he finally started the Fuinjutsu lessons. Naruto refrained from telling him it was in his head. It was obvious Jiraiya wouldn’t take that news well.

Since then, Jiraiya had been insistent in making sure Naruto was aware of all the dangers out in the world for a Jinchuriki. Kurama had mentioned more than once that Jiraiya should take them to meet his contacts if he was so concerned. Naruto pointed out they wouldn’t have any private training that way.

It shouldn’t have been surprising then, that they were eventually attacked.

* * *

Kakuzu didn’t get paid enough for this shit.

If anyone had asked his opinion, which they didn’t, he would have told them that he and Hidan were not the best matchup for the Kyuubi.

Not that they _couldn’t_ take the vessel or the beast. But there were others who could do it better. Faster. And time was money.

The Kyuubi no Kitsune had been controlled by the Sharingan once before. Rumor had it. Why not send Itachi and Kisame?

Then again, he was already down two hearts and Hidan was lying bisected on the ground. Perhaps _this_ was why they’d been sent.

Fucking figures.

“Hey! Fuckhead! Are you gonna put me back together or just fucking stand there?!”

Kakuzu wanted a raise.

The old guy wasn’t even here to help him. The brat was on his own and he had cut Hidan in half and taken out two of his hearts. It was about time to get serious.

“Fucking finally!”

Kakuzu stitched his partner back together but he didn’t mention that the kid was only using two of his nine available tails.

The grin, accentuated by elongated canines, told Kakuzu the kid knew that too.

* * *

Jiraiya wondered how many times he would have to bail this Genin out from under the Akatsuki.

The kid had a year of training with a Sannin under his belt this time and had done obvious damage to his opponents. _Both_ of them. But he wasn’t winning.

At least one of the two was smarter than the other because when Jiraiya landed in the clearing, the clearing that wasn’t there when he left, the masked guy grabbed his partner and carried him away.

He supposed it was probably easier to do considering he cut off the guy’s head first. Jiraiya wasn’t going to complain.

Perhaps it was time to head back to the village. They hadn’t been gone as long as he’d planned, but it would take them a while to get back.

The kid was probably eager to see his friends again anyway.

* * *

Pein could feel the heavy gaze on the back of his head as he listened to the report. He wasn’t as concerned about the failure as its owner was.

Kakuzu and Hidan had been a poor matchup. But their shadow leader had been insistent they try to take the Kyuubi while it was out of village. The man had wanted Itachi sent. He’d wanted Itachi and Zetsu and Pein himself to go.

But Pein was still in charge of the men. Thanks mostly in part to the other man’s unwillingness to be in the spotlight. Pein had other things he was more concerned about than the Kyuubi. When the time was right, he would go after the Jinchuriki himself if necessary. But it wasn’t yet necessary.

Otherwise he’d had Itachi on another assignment and Zetsu was no where to be found. The plant often did what it wanted, but the intel it gathered was worth it.

It left them with Kakuzu and Hidan, the immortals. Though, judging by Kakuzu’s pallor, they weren’t quite as immortal as they led everyone to believe.

If the villages were in the habit of sharing information, it would make grabbing the other vessels more difficult. But they weren’t. Which was why Pein was unconcerned and continued to ignore the presence at his back.

It wasn’t like his body could be killed anyway. Let the man try his best.

The Akatsuki had other work to do.

* * *

Naruto was glad to be back in Konoha.

Well, he wasn’t actually in the village yet, but they were back amongst familiar trees. A few more days and he could relax again.

Two years. He had been gone for almost two years.

He hoped he wasn’t too far behind in the rankings.

Jiraiya had stopped teaching him Fuinjutsu shortly after the Akatsuki attack. More concerned with keeping them on the move than stopping to train. So, Naruto spent most of his nights practicing what he knew.

He still hadn’t managed his Hiraishin seal yet. When he needed a break from that, he worked on Kurama’s. The Bijuu wasn’t free yet, but Naruto had managed to loosen the strangle hold it put on him. Now they could share senses without pain.

Kurama’s chakra still burned and his features still changed. But now Kurama could see and hear and smell and _feel_ whenever he wanted. Naruto was insulted that the fox always chose to disconnect whenever he ate ramen.

The entire trip back, Naruto also made sure to spend an hour a night in the seal space in his head training with Kurama on everything else.

His friends back home wouldn’t have slacked off while he was gone. Sasuke especially was going to be a menace. He could feel it. Naruto had to make sure that he could keep up.

By the time the gates finally came into view, Naruto was a one-man army.

* * *

Any other day, Sasuke would hate gate duty.

Today it meant that he got to be the one to announce Naruto was back. Today it meant _he knew first_.

The others were going to hate him for it.

He couldn’t wait to rub it in their faces.

Naruto looked disgusting. His hair was long and lopsided like he had tried to cut it himself after going too long without proper care. He couldn’t smell him yet, but by the amount of dirt and general filth on him, it wouldn’t be long. He was still wearing orange.

Sasuke grinned as he flickered to just in front of the blonde.

“You’re late.”

The blonde idiot just grinned.

“Ne, Sasuke. Want to help me with something?”

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! New POV's! Yes, I kept them purposely vague without mentioning their names in a few. I tried to still make it fairly obvious who they are. With one exception. Cause that one's the plot twist. Isn't that something? Not only am I writing plot, but I'm twisting it too! As is most of this, that was spur of the moment inspiration. So, I don't actually know where I'm taking it yet. Whoops. 
> 
> The timeline in this is kind of vague because I wasn't really thinking about it except when writing Naruto/Jiraiya's sections. *shrug* It's mostly a filler chapter anyway. 
> 
> I hope this explains some of the reasoning behind some of (my) Jiraiya's choices. I know he was bashed a bit in the last chapter, so I tried to make up for it a bit here. 
> 
> The next chapter is likely to be Naruto and Sasuke heavy. This was originally supposed to be written primarily from Naruto's POV with brief appearances by a smattering of others, and the others are starting to take over. Not a bad thing, and not why it'll be Naruto heavy next chapter. Okay, maybe it is a little bit. But I have plans for Naruto. That's why he's asking for help! Sort of. It's kind of another plot twist. It's also an idea I don't want to forget about, which is why I wanna write it as soon as I can, just not when I'm half asleep. So the next chapter will likely (read: hopefully) be out rather quickly. Stay tuned!


	5. Part Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens. And someone new enters the fray.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry. I thought I would have this done and out within 1-2 days of the last chapter and that obviously didn't happen. All I can say is......
> 
> I hate this chapter. 
> 
> I had this wonderful plot idea and it just blew up in my face and knocked me out with a wall of writer's block. I started to write my idea and had no idea where to take it. It turned out nothing like what I initially pictured, but I was too committed to scrap it. Then I got distracted by other fandoms and started writing another story. I literally had to force myself to sit down and write this. 
> 
> It's another shorter chapter, and I'm sorry for that. I think it's only 3200 words which is definitely short of the at least 4000 I shoot for with each chapter. But I can't look at it anymore and wanted to give you something. So here, please take it. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it more than I do.

_Sasuke grinned as he flickered to just in front of the blonde._

_“You’re late.”_

_The blonde idiot just grinned._

_“Ne, Sasuke. Want to help me with something?”_

* * *

Kakashi wasn’t a superstitious man. Sure, there were times when he wondered if he was cursed, considering everything that had happened to and around him. But it was just a passing thought. Not a serious belief. He had never put any stock in omens.

That was before he found a crow with a Sharingan eye on his windowsill.

He didn’t know if it holding a letter addressed to him made it better or worse.

Looking at who had signed it, he went with worse.

The whole thing was written in a code he used to use with one of his ANBU teams. Since he changed the code every time his team changed, it confirmed the sender’s identity. Uchiha Itachi wrote him a letter.

It was pretty damning information if any of it was true. The crow in front of him cocked its head to center him in the eerie red eye as if to ask him if he really doubted the claims. _Danzo_ was involved. Kakashi didn’t doubt a single word based solely on that accusation. This was all right up the elder’s alley.

Here-say wouldn’t hold up, though. He needed _proof_.

And that, he realized, was why the letter was addressed to _him_.

The crow took off before Kakashi could write a response. Or complain. He didn’t bother to track it when he couldn’t follow it out of the village.

He had an investigation to start.

* * *

He never thought he’d ever return here. When he first started following the bird, the thought should have at least crossed his mind. But since that night, since losing both his eyes, his sense of direction was nonexistent. Probably shameful for a shinobi to lose their way so easily. But then again, he hadn’t exactly been a shinobi since that night anyway.

Never mind that he kept up with training. Never mind that he came up with new training to compensate for being blind.

He didn’t need to know where he was going so long as he didn’t go _there_. He couldn’t find it the one time he’d tried anyway.

That’s probably why he was here now.

The bird had flown into the village without hesitation. But the summoner was not within its walls. Which left the question of where the summoner was? Who was its target?

Was he imagining what he wanted to feel?

He should leave. Turn around and never come back because he’d only complicate matters. Make them worse.

The Uchiha compound was achingly empty. His pitiful plan had failed. He’d died for _nothing_.

Except, he _wasn’t_ dead.

Maybe that would be better than going crazy.

He didn’t move when the crow took off to head back the way it came. He didn’t move when it stuttered and turned mid-flight. He didn’t move when it landed on the branch in front of him.

He could feel the bird staring at him. Could almost see his own face and the pitiful expression he was making.

Some instinct he didn’t know he had made him reach out for the bird. It was its turn not to move.

It crowed in pain, but it didn’t pull away. Not until he was done.

With a crow as his only witness, Uchiha Shisui opened his eye, and for the first time in almost a decade, he could see.

The crow was sent on its way, down an eye.

Having vision again was both a relief and disorienting. He’d gone so long without it that getting it back so suddenly, with the crisp clarity granted by the Sharingan, was almost overwhelming.

A simple cloth tie was enough to keep his eyes closed and his vision dark until he could let himself adjust.

Now he could get to work.

* * *

Naruto wanted to go to Uzushio.

The village and the people therein were long dead and destroyed. He knew that. He didn’t need his friends to keep telling him over and over again.

The Uzumaki had been known for their Fuinjutsu knowledge and Uzushio was known for being home to the Uzumaki clan. Jiraiya was no longer teaching him, but he didn’t know enough to rework his own seal. If there was anywhere he could go to get that information, it was Uzushio.

He’d intended to only discuss his idea with Sasuke initially, but the Uchiha had dragged him along to a meet-up with everyone.

Tenten jumped on board immediately. As a fellow student of Fuinjutsu, she wanted to learn directly from the best of the best, even if it was only through scrolls and other texts.

The others were less enthusiastic.

Naruto was surprised when Shino was the next one to volunteer to go with. According to the Aburame heir, there was a small clan from Uzushio renowned for their Genjutsu abilities. He would like the chance to study their techniques.

Sasuke immediately agreed to go with at that point, refusing to be left behind on such a trip.

Lee volunteered to go. Then was swiftly reminded by Sakura that they had clinical shifts at the hospital as part of their training. If this was made an official mission, he might be granted leeway to go. Sakura then gave everyone a look that said she knew full well they wouldn’t be asking for permission for this mission. Mostly because they all knew it wouldn’t be granted. Once asked and denied, they’d be put under watch. They had a history of running unsanctioned missions in similar circumstances.

Naruto hadn’t thought of that.

Shikamaru had.

A plan was made. Lee and Sakura would run interference with Tsunade while the group of four were gone. Keep her from sending any of them on assignments. Kiba would cover Kakashi, though the Inuzuka pointed out that the man had already been distracted lately. When he wasn’t at their lessons, he was nowhere to be found.

Former Team 11 – the next Ino-Shika-Cho formation – had an upcoming mission. None of them could go with nor could they run interference.

Neji and Hinata agreed to cover Tenten and Sasuke’s gate shifts, respectively.

Naruto grinned at his friends. There was a time when all he had was the demon in his head. Now he had such a large group of people willing to do as much for him as he was for them.

The blonde pointed out that it just wouldn’t be possible for him to sneak out while Jiraiya was still in village and checking on him. It meant they had a few days to prepare before the Sennin left again.

* * *

None of them knew much about Uzushiogakure. It was only mentioned in passing at the academy. Just enough that they knew the village had been powerful but was ultimately destroyed.

Knowing that the place had been destroyed and seeing the destruction were two very different things.

There wasn’t a single building still standing. A large river was flanked on both sides by nothing but ruins. There were symbols and carvings still visible on some of the larger pieces of rubble. Most of it was overtaken by the surrounding vegetation. Flowers, moss, trees, vines.

The destruction made it harder for them to find what they were looking for.

They had no idea as to the layout of the village. Without that, it was hard to know where to look. They couldn’t even find the building that would have served as the equivalent to Konoha’s Hokage Tower. They could search the ruins for months without finding what they were looking for. But the others could only give them so much time before they would eventually be missed.

Splitting up, Naruto and Tenten began to search for Fuinjutsu records while Sasuke and Shino looked for Genjutsu scrolls with an unspoken agreement to grab the materials for the other group should they find it first.

With the help of his Kikaichuu, Shino found something first. It took him and Sasuke an hour to clear everything away from the tile his insects were swarming. Then they had to find Naruto and Tenten to decipher the seal built into the stonework.

* * *

Naruto was surprised they managed to find anything that first day. He had never seen the large seal before, but reading the components was just like reading any other seal. He had it translated by nightfall. It was too dark to do anything with it by then, so they camped out for the night.

Come first light, Naruto was staring down a formidable but intact stone staircase leading to an underground vault.

Uzushio, it seemed, knew just how coveted their knowledge was. They’d sealed all their records away at the first sign of attack all those years ago.

Naruto took point and Tenten brought up the rear in case of any other seals. The tunnels were too narrow to go more than single file. It was safest to keep the ones with sealing knowledge where they were most likely to need it.

Sasuke followed behind Naruto to help watch for traps with his Sharingan. Shino fell between Sasuke and Tenten to use his Kaichuu to map their path to find their way back out.

* * *

It was difficult to say how much time they’d spent traveling the tunnels. At the end, they opened into a large cavern. There was another sealed door that opened without issue under Naruto’s touch. Inside were shelves of scrolls and artifacts. They were even neatly sorted.

Naruto thanked his ancestors for their forethought.

They spent an entire day sorting through the material to see how much there was. The Genjutsu section was disappointingly small, but no less valuable. Shino was able to carry all of the scrolls himself without issue.

The Fuinjutsu, on the other hand, was a veritable library.

Tenten and Naruto worked to separate the knowledge into levels of difficulty first. If they could fit everything into their storage scrolls and on their person, they would take it all, but they wanted to have an idea of what they could leave behind before that.

Sasuke let them do all the work before he produced two mass transport storage scrolls from his pack with a smug smirk. He proceeded to gloat while the two packed everything up.

They still had to carry several scrolls on their person.

They’d been gone for three days by the time they left. They could not afford to stay to review the knowledge. They could likely only stretch their time by another two days at most before they were finally missed by more than just their friends. The trip back would be three days.

* * *

There was a time when Sasuke would have scoffed if someone had called him reckless. He was sure many would have thought it, but no one would have said it _to him_.

Now he often said to himself.

He had just _snuck out of the village_ to go to _another_ village. Granted, that other village was long dead and gone, but it was the concept of the matter. If they had been caught, Tsunade would have been within her rights to accuse them of treason.

Naruto just laughed at him when he brought it up on the way back.

Standing outside the gates debating about the best way to sneak back in just proved his point. But no one was asking Sasuke.

Sasuke had never had much luck in life. He was left to assume it was Naruto’s luck that had Shikamaru and his team returning from their mission at the same time that they were. Especially since it was far earlier than the genius had projected. 

With a gesture towards the other three with him and hoping they would follow his lead, Sasuke leapt out into the open, doing his best to appear as if he had come from the direction of the village.

“I thought that was you guys I felt. You’re back early.”

Sasuke was grateful that Shino had come with. The other boy physically hauled Naruto out with him.

“It didn’t go as planned.”

Despite saying it with a sigh, Shikamaru’s tone made it clear it had been a serious complication.

Sasuke became so entrenched in listening and discussing the mission with the other team, that he forgot about being nervous as they passed through the gates.

It wasn’t until later that night that the gravity of what the four of them had succeeded in doing hit him. Naruto had entered through his window, reclined on his bed as if it were his own, and tossed a Genjutsu scroll at his head.

A Genjutsu scroll written not for the specialized clan of Uzushio, but for the Uchiha clan and its Sharingan.

* * *

The only explanation Naruto, or any of the others, could come up with to explain the scroll for the Sharingan in Uzushio was that the village had, at one point, housed at least one Uchiha.

It left a lot of unanswered questions for all of them. Given the nature of the mission, they couldn’t ask anyone about it directly. They’d have to do their own research.

Naruto was surprised when Ino immediately volunteered to search the classified archives. He was more surprised when she waved away everyone’s concern, stating she had done it several times already.

Shikamaru wanted Sasuke to walk him through the old Uchiha compound. Naruto wasn’t surprised to learn that his teammate hadn’t stepped foot in the tomb he once called home the entire time Naruto was with Jiraiya. Sasuke agreed, but Naruto was left to wonder what the genius was looking for.

* * *

Naruto was the Jinchuriki for the Kyuubi no Kitsune. He had learned the demon’s name when he was a child. He had been _raised_ by that demon. He’d fought Orochimaru and survived. He’d beaten the Jinchuriki for the Ichibi no Tanuki. He had been trained by one of the Legendary Sannin for two years.

Uzumaki Naruto was only a Genin.

All of the others had been promoted at least once while he was gone, and some of them more than that. Neji and Shino were both Jounin. They’d been promoted _twice_.

They waited until after he returned from Uzushio to tell him.

Now they were forcing him to prepare for the next exams instead of helping them investigate.

Kiba just outright laughed at him during their sessions with Kakashi.

That was something he had to get used to. He didn’t train as a unit with Sasuke and Sakura under Kakashi anymore. That didn’t stop them from doing it regularly. They would always be a team. But his Chunin teammates had other duties associated with their rank and continued training, so it was just him and Kakashi now.

And apparently Kiba.

The Inuzuka hadn’t ever answered Naruto when he asked him why he was training with Kakashi.

Kurama simply told him that he had stopped listening when he heard it had something to do with dogs and _that_ was why he didn’t know. Naruto ignored him.

Naruto couldn’t help with the investigation. Not while he was being run into the ground by Kakashi everyday as Kiba stood by and laughed.

Kurama also seemed distracted most of the time. When his host would question him, the Bijuu would simply say he was thinking. That usually meant the fox had picked up on something Naruto missed. But Naruto wasn’t bothered. Kurama would tell him once he had worked it all out. For now, Naruto would bide his time. Even if he didn’t like it.

* * *

The scattered pieces of the puzzle they were scraping from shadows and nothing were very little to go by. But Shikamaru’s specialty was manipulating the shadows of others. They didn’t have much, but they had enough that _he_ was starting to see.

It wasn’t looking good.

Ino hadn’t found much in the archives. That detail alone was enough to raise flags for the genius. The blonde reported that nothing was misfiled, and nothing was redacted. Nothing even _existed_.

If Shikamaru didn’t know exactly what they were looking for, their search might have been curtailed then.

But Shikamaru did know.

And Shikamaru was a genius.

Konoha’s Jounin Commander was Nara Shikaku. Shikamaru had grown up alongside classified meetings and his father’s rants. From those alone, the Nara heir knew there should have been more in the archives than the fact that Uzushio existed and the date it fell.

Finding nothing was the same as finding something.

It meant there was something they were trying to hide.

The problem came down to _who_ was trying to hide it. The archives that Ino searched should only be able to be accessed by the Hokage and top officials. Anyone else needed express permission to enter. Or they had to break in without getting caught. So far as Shikamaru knew, and he knew a lot, Ino was one of very, very few capable of achieving that.

The Uchiha compound held more information.

The grounds had been off-limits to everyone outside of the clan since their move when Sasuke was a child. After the massacre, with Sasuke as the only one in the compound, there was no need for anyone else to come or go.

Sasuke was also the son of the Clan Head, and therefore knew of the secret hiding places. Places, Shikamaru suspected, he wasn’t supposed to know about as the _second_ son.

There were only a few documents and a stone slab there. All of which required the Sharingan to read in any capacity. One of the scrolls and the stone slab had to require a more advanced form than what Sasuke had unlocked because he was unable to make sense of them.

The others were benign at first glance. Birth records. Family trees. Occupations.

Shikamaru had Sasuke read and translate those first.

There was one name that stood out. Uchiha Kagami. Occupation: Ambassador. And it was etched onto the memorial stone.

The Nara heir could do a lot to fine tune their search with a name.

The only records on file that Ino could pull was the man’s academy record, and his team.

Then Shikamaru had a different name.

Danzo Shimura.

_That_ was progress.

* * *

There were very few people who could move throughout the facility freely. But lately, there was a new face doing just that.

Everyone knew about one of the older members. The one who got to go without his mask. They said his seal was still in place, but those on the outside knew of his existence. _He_ could come and go. Could push Danzo when they could not.

This wasn’t him.

The new man had silver, almost white hair. It caused a strange sensation in his chest every time he saw it. He was beginning to think he might need to see medical about it.

The man always wore a mask, but it was a mask he didn’t recognize. And he was too old to be a new recruit. The only time someone joined out of childhood was if they were a special case. The man seemed talented, he had to be to move freely through the facility without getting caught, but he wasn’t recruit special. Which meant he wasn’t special at all.

And yet…

And yet _he was there_.

He could tell he was the only one who had noticed. Or perhaps he was the only one who cared. But thinking like that brought up many other unrelated problems he didn’t want to consider. It wasn’t his job to be curious or to act without orders. If Danzo-sama was unconcerned, then he would be too.

Whatever he was looking for, he wasn’t likely to find it.

He made sure to smile at the mismatched eyes behind the porcelain whenever they met.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No long winded note this time. Just another apology for the short length. I'll try my best to make the next one extra long for you. Hopefully it'll be easier now that I'm over this hump. But this story is definitely teaching me that planning is important in real writing. Trying to think about how something will come into play later on is hard when you haven't thought of later on yet. 
> 
> Final word: We have a new POV! And it's another mystery!! You all did well guessing the last one, how about this one? Any takers? :)
> 
> (Please let me know if you spot any plot holes in this. I've been thinking about and looking at this so long, that I leave something out by mistake because it's in my head. I need you to tell me if something is confusing so I can correct it, or fix it later on. Thank you all!)


	6. Part Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaara is no damsel, and he is not in distress. Kankuro is also not a damsel, but he is in distress. 
> 
> Look out Danzo - here they come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE!!
> 
> So, it's not extra long. It's about the same length as chapter 5. But I am giving it to you within hours of posting chapter 5. So it's kind of like you're getting one 6400 word update! Right?
> 
> What's really important, is that I like this chapter. I managed to move the story along with a bit of canon - altered appropriately of course - and still hint at my own plot going on. It's looking like something might happen with that plot soon! 
> 
> Please enjoy! (I promise this one is much better than the last! (at least I think so))

_He made sure to smile at the mismatched eyes behind the porcelain whenever they met._

* * *

Gaara had been raised by the demon is head. He called it Mother.

He had no one but Mother for a long time as a child, his own siblings and father too afraid to interact with him. The villagers even more terrified.

It was justifiable. He spent most of his childhood killing anyone unlucky enough to be nearby when the urge hit. When Mother screamed.

Gaara had his siblings now. His father was dead, but his sensei, Baki, was around. Looking back, the man had been the only one who didn’t cower around him. Gaara didn’t know how much he appreciated, _respected_ , that until now.

Gaara still had the demon in his head. He didn’t call it Mother anymore.

It had gone silent after they left Konoha. Gaara didn’t hear a sound come from the demon the entire trip back to Suna. It was as they were walking through the village border that it spoke.

Gaara now called him Shukaku.

The village called Gaara Kazekage.

* * *

Deidara had joined the Akatsuki young.

Of course, this was overshadowed by the ridiculous Uchiha prodigy who joined even younger and _before_ him.

Deidara stopped pointing out that Itachi only had 2 years on him – 2 years younger when he joined, but 2 years older. It never did anything anyway.

Deidara _hated_ him.

But Deidara had joined young because he was talented. That was how their recruitment went. Talent and power.

Just because he was young and admittedly impulsive compared to the rest of the group, Hidan excluded, didn’t mean that he wasn’t capable of seizing an entire hidden village by himself. Sasori-danna had taken a country with 100 puppets. Deidara could take a village with one bomb.

Sunagakure was not that village though.

Deidara was impulsive, not stupid. He could feel the roiling chakra beneath him. Taking this village would not be easy. Their intel had to be wrong.

He was careful not to breach the film of chakra hanging in the air that he could feel without even touching. If he messed up, if he crossed that invisible line, all hell would break loose. His ego may sting at asking Sasori-danna for help in this, but it was better than failing.

* * *

Temari had never run so fast for so long before in her life. But she couldn’t afford to stop.

Her brothers were dying.

Kankuro had been poisoned and not even their best healers knew what had been used, and therefore could not help him. The best they could do was treat his pain.

Gaara was gone. He’d fought against two massive chakra signatures in a battle for the village. She was sure that if the battle had taken place in the open, _empty_ desert where her little brother didn’t have to worry about bystanders being injured or killed, he could have won. But it took place in and above the village.

Gaara had fallen and they _took him!_

Temari had sprinted past the gates before she even lost sight of Gaara. She was close enough to their heels that she could see the blonde, the one carrying her unconscious little brother, turn to glance at her. But she wasn’t pursuing them. She had no delusions. If Gaara and Shukaku could not beat them, she couldn’t either. She had to hope that her brother would wake up soon and fight back without mercy when no one else was around. Her brother may be dying, but he wasn’t dead yet.

She had to force herself to break eye contact to continue towards Konoha. They were their only hope.

Normally, the trip would take 3 days of travel with minimal breaks and stopping to sleep. Temari did none of this. She did not stop. She did not eat. She did not sleep. She did not slow down.

She would collapse at the end of this, unable to return to see her brothers wake up. But so long as they woke up, it would be worth it.

She didn’t slow down as the other village came into view. She didn’t slow down as the guards manning the gate called for her to stop and announce herself. She couldn’t afford to. _Her brothers were dying!_

Temari would have continued straight to the Hokage if someone hadn’t moved into her path so fast, she couldn’t avoid them. It felt like she’d hit a brick wall.

Gasping for air and shaking from over exertion, no longer able to get up now that she had stopped, she sagged in the stranger’s hold and sobbed. She tried to tell them what was happening. She tried to beg them for help, to send back up. To do _something_. But she couldn’t even understand herself, so it was unlikely those around her could.

A sharp voice barked something out into the space around her, but she was already too far gone to understand the words.

“Please. Help.”

And then her vision tunneled until all she could see was a head of spiked hair pulled back giving orders she couldn’t hear. She fell unconscious a moment later.

* * *

Choji stepped out in front of the incoming kunoichi just as she breached the gates and braced himself for the impact. She went so still afterwards, he was concerned she’d knocked herself out.

Then she began to shake. 

Choji could tell she was speaking, begging them for something, but he couldn’t understand her.

Thankfully, Shikamaru apparently could.

“Naruto! Lee! GO! I’ll send someone behind you!”

Choji looked up in time to see an orange blur topped in yellow speed out of the village with a green blur at its side.

Shikamaru and Choji were on gate duty, and Naruto and Lee had stopped by for a visit. Choji was pretty sure Lee was supposed to be at the hospital that evening.

The girl was unconscious before they could question her. As Shikamaru instructed him to get her to the hospital and send Sakura to the gate, Choji finally recognized her. From there, he had a better picture. He didn’t argue.

* * *

Sakura understood how Temari had been able to turn a three-day trip into one just over 16 hours. It didn’t mean that she was any less impressed. Unfortunately, the medic couldn’t afford to do that.

It was rather humiliating to be passed around her current teammates as they ran, but she understood. Even if she could make the trip the same way Temari had, the same way they were doing, it would mean that she wouldn’t be able to treat Kankuro nearly as effectively.

Naruto and Lee hadn’t had long to get a head start on their group, but 7 hours in they still hadn’t caught sight of either of them. Sakura would have felt bad about knowing she wouldn’t stand a chance in hell of keeping up with Naruto in a footrace if it weren’t for the fact that she could crush skulls (boulders) with her bare hands _without_ chakra. That she could bring someone back from the brink of death. If someone wasn’t dead, she was confident she had a chance to save them.

So long as Kankuro had a pulse when she arrived, she would save him.

* * *

Naruto was waiting at Suna’s gate for the others when they got there. He and Lee had arrived 2 hours before them. Naruto was sure if they had been any slower, Kankuro would be dead.

“Sakura! Lee needs your help. He’s got Kankuro stabilized but he can’t cure him.”

His teammate slid off of Kiba’s back and raced into the village behind the shinobi that had been waiting next to Naruto. Shino followed after them despite his obvious fatigue. If Kankuro had been poisoned, Shino could help.

Naruto turned back to the others.

Sasuke and Hinata barely looked winded. Kiba was breathing heavy but was already recovering. Akamaru was pacing as if he hadn’t run at all.

“They went Northeast. Let’s get Gaara back.”

* * *

Shukaku hated humans.

He was sure most of his siblings hated the pests, but he and Kurama had always been extra vocal about it. Seeing his oldest, strongest sibling bound to a human and actively _helping_ them was a surprise.

Getting his ass handed to him by said brother wasn’t. Not really. Kurama had been taking the fight seriously. Shukaku had not.

Still, it had left the Ichibi wondering what could be if he worked with just this one human.

In hindsight, that was a stupid decision.

He’d gotten attached.

Now he was responsible for not just his host, but an entire village worth of very fragile, squishable pests.

Getting caught so they would be taken outside of the village hadn’t been the plan. Not until it happened, at least. Because these idiots didn’t know anything about Gaara or Shukaku or the seal that bound them together.

Shukaku was notoriously difficult to seal. Kurama was the only one more so, and only because of his chakra’s nature. But Shukaku knew a thing or two about sealing.

The one that was used to trap him inside a host was flawed. It was why it was so easy for him to take over. Gaara hadn’t been the first that happened to; he was just the most frequent. The Kazekage had fucked that up all on his own without Shukaku’s interference.

Now, Shukaku was grateful for the flaw. What he had once used to torture his Jinchuriki would now be how he saved him.

Gaara was unconscious. But Shukaku was not. All he had to do was bide his time. Put enough distance between them and the village so he wouldn’t have to hold back. These men were arrogant. Their plan was doomed to fail from the start.

As Gaara was dumped unceremoniously onto the floor, Shukaku began to laugh.

**“My turn.”**

* * *

Naruto, Sasuke, Kiba, and Hinata moved in sync to destroy all four seals holding the barrier around the boulder that served as an entrance to the cave in place. The barrier fell, but four clones rose into existence.

It was a shame that the seals used to create them meant they fought with the style used to break them.

Hinata simply slid back into the form of the Gentle Fist.

Kiba shifted to the faster Hatake style

Sasuke had been training with everyone who would put up with him for two years. He had many to choose from.

Naruto just stuck a seal to his clone’s head.

Akamaru barked in greeting back at the boulder when they returned.

Using her Byakugan to pinpoint the weakest spot, Hinata struck the boulder with a jutsu of her own creation. As the rock crumbled, Kiba and Naruto whistled. Sasuke just grinned proudly.

* * *

Sasuke stepped forward with Naruto.

They were greeted by Gaara. He was lounging on a small mountain of sand. Sand that was stained dark red. They could see no one else in the cave.

**“Yo, Aniki.”**

Naruto didn’t need to hear Kurama’s growl to know it wasn’t actually Gaara. The black and yellow eyes told him that much.

**“Sorry I didn’t leave any for you. I couldn’t afford to wait.”**

The Jinchuriki’s smirk suggested the Bijuu wasn’t sorry at all.

* * *

Kankuro was pretty sure he was supposed to be dead.

He wasn’t supposed to be looked up at the ceiling of their medical wing. He should never be opening his eyes again.

He didn’t even hurt anywhere.

_Rock Lee_ had saved him. Kankuro was crashing when Naruto and Lee arrived at the village. Lee was gifted enough that he could stabilize Kankuro physically until further help arrived. Suna's own healers couldn't even do that with the poison still in his system.

The shinobi from the leaf who was famous for having no talent with chakra was able to use medical ninjutsu to keep Kankuro alive for two hours without any help.

Then Haruno Sakura showed up and _pulled the poison out of his body_ like it was nothing. By the time she was done, he didn’t even need the cure. The Aburame made him one anyway.

Or, at least, this was what Kankuro was told. It was all true, but he had a hard time believing it. Temari had been the one to travel to and from Konoha regularly. He appointed himself Gaara’s personal guard.

His panic didn’t subside until he was allowed to stumble down to the other side of the medical wing where Gaara was sleeping. Where Gaara was sleeping under guard by Naruto _and_ Sasuke. That probably meant Shukaku had gotten involved somehow.

Kankuro couldn’t find it in him to care much about that little detail. He was so relieved that his brother was okay that he promptly passed back out.

* * *

Shikamaru wasn’t surprised when he was called into the Hokage’s office. He was even less surprised that it was about him dispatching shinobi on a mission to another village without consulting the Hokage or the council first. The only reason it hadn’t happened sooner was because Tsunade was busy treating Temari herself.

What surprised the genius was the presence of the council and Danzo during the meeting.

He had to fight back his amusement at their attempt at intimidation. He was a _Nara_. It would take far more than looming and passive aggression to intimidate him.

Tsunade was a very lenient Hokage. It was obvious he was here because of pressure from the council and not because of any issues she had taken with his actions. After explaining what happened, she easily dismissed him. Watching the fools that called themselves elders bluster while trying to appear as if they weren’t had him smirking openly.

The flash in Tsunade’s eyes when he bowed mockingly before leaving was the icing on the cake.

He didn’t have enough on Danzo to confront him just yet. That was only because he knew more than he could prove. He just had to find the paper trail he knew existed.

* * *

Tenzo had been a member of ROOT for most of his life. It was hard to say whether not having memories of a time before ROOT meant he had been born into the organization, or if his memory had been tampered with. Either one was a possibility.

There was a time when it mattered to him.

It didn’t matter anymore.

He was as free as he could be with Danzo still alive and the seal on his tongue. He had enough freedom to come and go from ROOT without having to explain himself. It meant that while he still did assignments for ROOT, he worked mostly for the Hokage now.

Tsunade was far less willfully blind than Sarutobi Hiruzen had been.

He still couldn’t say anything of course. Not with the seal in place.

But he could talk to Kakashi. Who was wondering around the ROOT facility. The man would have stuck out less if he had gone without the porcelain mask. ROOT’s weren’t made of porcelain. They weren’t so individual.

Getting the older man to tell him what he was doing would be impossible, so Tenzo didn’t bother trying. Just asked if he could give his senior directions.

Kakashi didn’t appreciate the sarcasm, but Tenzo thought it was rather clever.

It was just their luck that the thing Kakashi was looking for was the one thing Tenzo no longer had access to. With his exposure on the surface, Tenzo was no longer allowed into the records room. Danzo had even gone so far as to move the room. Tenzo had checked once.

But Tenzo was familiar with ROOT in a way that Kakashi wasn’t. He knew who could be trusted and who could be manipulated. He knew who could be neither trusted nor manipulated.

Sai followed orders. Yet every mission he fulfilled had the subtlest signs of rebellion. Small details easily explained by taking orders either too literally, or not enough.

The boy was unnerving with his constant smile that was so fake it hurt to look at. He didn’t understand anything about emotions. He knew even less about normal social interaction.

He was Tenzo’s favorite.

He had never worked with the teen, but he had seen his handiwork. Maybe Tenzo could do for Sai what Kakashi did for Tenzo.

“Sai! Do you know where the records are kept?”

Tenzo wasn’t supposed to know his name. But a lot of what Tenzo knew, he shouldn’t.

* * *

Deidara and Sasori were dead.

The Ichibi had not been extracted.

If they weren’t already dead, Obito would have killed them himself.

Everything was falling apart. His members were having more and more trouble with extracting the beasts as time went on. Ever since Hidan and Kakuzu failed to take the Kyuubi while it was out of the village.

The Hachibi had never left his village long enough to take. The Kyuubi was back to his village. And they _still_ hadn’t found the Rokubi’s container. The Ichibi was supposed to be the easiest to take of those that remained.

On top of it all, he couldn’t find Zetsu. The plant had disappeared two years ago and never returned.

Pein was unconcerned, but of course he would be. He didn’t know about Zetsu. How was Obito supposed to complete the plan if he didn’t have the plant to feed him intel?

They’d been forced to rely on Sasori’s living puppets and look where that got them.

Two members down and no Bijuu to show for it.

It was even getting harder and harder for him to move about himself. Itachi had been watching him more closely than he had in the past. He wasn’t sure what had changed, but he couldn’t afford to fail.

He’d been through too much to lose his chance at peace.

* * *

Shisui had forgotten how easy it was to cast Genjutsu with the aid of the Sharingan. It was almost as easy as breathing.

It left him wondering what he’d be capable of if he could take back his other eye from Danzo.

He’d been sneaking in and out of the village for months. He planned to take his eye back in due time, but not just yet. First, he had to find the proof that Danzo ordered the Uchiha massacre.

It was possible the Hokage had made the order, but Shisui was confident the Sandaime had simply covered it up. For all that he had preached about protecting the village, the former Hokage had a bad habit of putting his former teammate first.

Shisui couldn’t fault him for that. He would have been the same with Itachi once. But Shisui had never wanted to be Hokage. He would put his village before a lot, but he could not put it before _everything_.

Shisui didn’t hate Danzo. There were plenty he was sure who did. He had no doubt Sasuke would when he eventually learned about what Shisui was trying to prove. But Shisui did not. Shisui just wanted to protect Sasuke. The only Uchiha allowed to walk freely throughout the village.

Staying out of Kakashi’s way was the hardest part. His one-time senpai was flitting about the underground complex a lot. The man’s Sharingan eye would likely be able to see through his Genjutsu, or at least notice a Genjutsu was being used. So Shisui would move in the opposite direction to search an area his senpai wasn’t.

Finding the records room on the very edge of the complex meant he could get in and out quickly without drawing attention like he might if it had been in the center.

It should have been in the center.

Getting past the guards on the door and inside the room was easy. Without an entire clan capable of using the Sharingan, shinobi had grown lazy. They no longer shied away from eye contact.

The files were his for the taking.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is own back to back with chapter 5, but if getting chapter 5 out told me anything, it's that updates are likely to vary. Sometimes, like with chapter 6, I just write and write and write. Other times, I get stalled. I promise not to drop this story until it's complete, and I will try not to go too too long between updates, but they may slow down as I have to come up with more original plot without any prior planning. 
> 
> You will notice some characters (*coughcoughGaara/Shukakucoughcough*) are different with very little explanation. This is just my take on what the two of them could have been if Shukaku had gotten his shit together after being beaten by Naruto/Gaara. Also, this Naruto is working WITH Kurama, and in my world, Shukaku could tell that. Hence the change. 
> 
> I'm terribly sorry, but Deidara and Sasori did not survive this work. Please give them a moment of silence. I considered having Deidara survive, but then I wrote Shukaku. He was having none of that. This is one of those few times that a character steamrolls over the badguys. Yes, things will be easier for the main people as they are far more powerful than they were, but I'm trying to write a good story, not make something that is easy to write. Further fights will require at least some effort. But again, Shukaku jumped right in this time and was like "haha nope!" 
> 
> I think that's it for now! Again, I ask for your help in spotting plot holes. I haven't stopped to re-read this from the beginning in a while, so I need you to stay on me about this! Please and thank you!


	7. Part Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chunin exams - party of one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Here's your extra long chapter! I'm not going to say much to avoid spoilers!
> 
> Please enjoy!

_Getting past the guards on the door and inside the room was easy. Without an entire clan capable of using the Sharingan, shinobi had grown lazy. They no longer shied away from eye contact._

_The files were his for the taking._

* * *

Naruto was sure he was being punished.

Sure, he was always glad to spend time with his friends. Even now he often found himself marveling over how not alone he was.

There was a time when all he had was Kurama.

But he was going to make sure that the next time he had to do something as embarrassing as participate in the Chunin exams alone, that Sasuke wasn’t around for it. While Naruto was initially excited to have one of his original teammates as part of his escort, the other was already being insufferable about being a higher rank. If Naruto managed to mess this up, he would never live it down.

Naruto had been there for the conversation about the necessity of an escort, but he still didn’t like it.

Convincing Tsunade to let him attend the next Chunin exam, being held in Kumo, wasn’t hard at all. The woman had a soft spot for the younger blonde to begin with, but Naruto would need the rank to be of any official use to the village.

Convincing the council that insisted on sticking their noses into the affair was an entirely different matter.

Naruto didn’t even know who any of the old geezers were. Why were they getting any say in his life? Two of them, one of the old men and the only old woman, looked like they hadn’t seen active combat in several decades. They’d put on weight that suggested they no longer trained, and their clothes suggested a certain amount of luxury. Then there was the pompous, overinflated body language that told Naruto they made a living of looking down on others and expecting to be obeyed. They were the kind of people that didn’t like Naruto on principle and the blonde tried to avoid.

The second old man looked like he belonged more in the hospital than on a shinobi council. Naruto wasn’t sure he wanted someone with as many injuries, especially such chronic and residual ones as the bandages suggested, making any kind of decisions regarding any missions.

It became clear he had little say in the matter.

None of the Elders were willing to listen to anything Naruto said. They weren’t even willing to pay him any attention besides the disapproving looks they shot him when they forced their way into the Hokage’s office. _While he was still there_

Even Naruto offered a token apology when he barged in. _They_ just started making demands as if the Hokage was supposed to follow their orders and not the other way around.

Kurama’s discontented rumbling in the back of his head did nothing to calm Naruto’s own irritation and rapidly fading patience.

The council didn’t want him to leave the village at all. They wanted him to stay behind the walls and wait until it was their turn to host again. They hadn’t wanted him to leave with Jiraiya two years ago, and they were putting their foot down this time.

Except it could take years for Konoha to host again.

And from their looks, they wouldn’t be willing to let him try for inner village promotion in the meantime.

Naruto was never more thankful for Tsunade than in that moment.

“It’s funny.”

The woman had been silent during most of the lecturing, so when she spoke up the room went silent, catching even Naruto’s complete attention. Her tone suggested the situation was anything but.

“You all seem to be under the impression that the council is capable of ordering the Hokage.”

The looks on the old farts’ faces was enough to make even laid-back Naruto smirk. It was fortunate that other than Tsunade, they all had their backs to him. Stupid given they were all shinobi, but fortunate. His smirks always trended towards feral.

“Naruto is going.”

Just like that, his place at the Chunin exam was solidified. He wasn’t even upset that he was being given an escort at a half-assed attempt at appeasing the codgers.

Half-assed only in that it was made up entirely of his friends.

A real escort because every member was more than capable of causing untold destruction.

But now he was stuck with Sasuke and his insufferable gloating.

Did he mention he had to take the exam all on his own? His escort could not help him in any way during the actual tests. Given his escort was made up of three Chunin and a Jounin, that seemed fair. At first glance. At second glance, he was the only Konoha shinobi being sent for this particular exam.

Shikamaru had something about there being tensions between Kumo and Konoha, and how the recent graduates were not up to par, but Naruto was never very interested in politics and thus didn’t really listen. He wished he would have. Or that Shikamaru was part of his escort. Choji and Ino were, but the Nara genius was not.

He’d said something about making progress on the investigation, but the whole group seemed weirdly determined to keep him out of it.

Other than deciphering the Uchiha texts or answering weird questions about his clan, they seemed determined to keep Sasuke out of it too.

Naruto would have been suspicious if he didn’t trust his friends so much. Also, Lee wasn’t involved much either. But Naruto was pretty sure that had more to do with Lee’s difficulty with keeping secrets. Sure, the boy was great while on missions. But when it involved his friends or others he cared about? He couldn’t keep his mouth shut. This way gave him plausible deniability with how closely he trained with Tsunade throughout the week. _Sakura_ could look you in the eye and lie outright without batting an eye or a change in her heartrate, however. Naruto was sure she was neck deep in whatever conspiring was going on.

Naruto was also sure Ino was neck deep. Which made him curious as to why she was part of his escort and not back in the village investigating with Shikamaru.

“I’m not going to pass on the chance to infiltrate an enemy village.”

Naruto was very concerned by her response when he’d asked. Sasuke had just snorted when the darker blonde voiced his concerns about her getting caught and executed. Choji seemed entirely unconcerned as well.

Neji called them idiots.

Naruto wasn’t one to hold grudges. Hinata had forgiven Neji, so Naruto had forgiven the boy. But that didn’t mean the blonde was used to the older boy being an active member of their friend group either.

Having him as the Jounin in command of the escort mission would be interesting.

Naruto was looking forward to how little control he’d have over the others.

* * *

Sasuke had been wondering some of the same things as Naruto. He had noticed how the others were keeping both him and the blonde out of whatever they were looking into. All Sasuke knew was that it had started after they found out about the Sharingan scroll from Uzushio.

Sasuke _still_ hadn’t worked out the scroll.

He made sure to read through the scroll at least once a day, but he hadn’t had any progress in recent weeks. He had only managed to read part of the scroll, and what he could read was heavily coded.

He suspected the rest of the scroll was like the tablet and other Uchiha compound documents that required a higher form of the Sharingan to read.

Most of his effort was going into the code. He was no slouch, but he was starting to think he would need to show it to Shikamaru to get help with cracking it. Or maybe Shino. The Aburame was surprisingly talented with coding, often using simple ones to communicate to others using his Kikaichuu.

There was a time that Sasuke would have been angry and bitter about his friends leaving him out. But since befriending Naruto, he’d found that many of the things that used to bother him no longer did. Or did to a far lesser extent.

Itachi was always the exception, but Naruto didn’t even bother to discourage it. Just promised to be at his side.

It was clear from his friends’ behavior that whatever the scroll had led them to, it involved the Uchiha. It probably also involved Itachi. Part of him wanted to be annoyed that they were keeping that kind of information from him. Most of him was just relieved that they cared enough about him to wait until they had everything before bringing it to him.

Sasuke was willing to trust them on this.

* * *

Naruto was mildly insulted.

He was also mildly amused.

It appeared that the exam had already started. It remined him of the first test when Konoha hosted over two years ago. At that time, they had to pass through a low level Genjutsu just to get to get to the initial exam room.

This time wasn’t much different.

They were expected to find their way into the building just to register for the test.

It was clever, but slightly flawed. Many Genin showed up with their instructors to register their arrival and intent to take the exam. Plus, they typically had their teammates.

Of course, not every village was as focused on teamwork as Konoha, but most Genin in most villages were assigned a team upon graduating. It was easier to train them that way. Giving each Genin their own individual Jounin would mean taking too many Jounin off the mission roster. It wasn’t feasible.

Then again, this seemed like it was one of those things that the sensei would notice immediately, and thus keep their mouths shut. Unless they were cheaters. It still meant that most of those trying to get into the building had others they could talk through the problem with.

Naruto was by himself.

Sasuke and Neji took one look at the building and proceeded to physically stop Ino and Choji in their tracks. They were all settled on a nearby bench to watch him struggle.

Except Naruto wasn’t stupid. The fact that Sasuke and Neji had spotted something meant it was, in fact, a Genjutsu. All Naruto had to do after that was look for other signs. The groups of Genin just kept circling the building.

All of the Kumo teams that approached passed through the front door without issue. Several of them even smirked or outright laughed at the other teams still circling the building. Which left Naruto to wonder why they were circling it at all. Why couldn’t everyone just walk in the front door?

The image of the building hadn’t change at all for Naruto. Genjutsu was not his specialty. But conversely, it was also incredibly difficult to successfully put him under a Genjutsu, let alone keep him under. His chakra shifted and roiled too much even at baseline, but excessively so in easy response to his emotions. To Naruto’s knowledge, Sasuke, Shino, Kakashi, and Kurenai were the only people capable of that. And he was certain Sasuke hadn’t cast one. The others weren’t there.

After 30 minutes of just observing, Naruto stuttered and whipped his chakra experimentally. The building in front of him wavered and shimmered briefly, before it settled again.

So, it _was_ a Genjutsu. The building behind what he was seeing didn’t look any different though. The fact it didn’t break when he flexed his chakra meant the illusion wasn’t being cast on him, or anyone individually. It was being cast on either the building, or the area just around the building.

Naruto smirked. That could only mean that it was being anchored with a seal. If Kumo teams could enter without issue, it was likely conditional.

Kumo wasn’t playing very fair.

“Later, guys!”

Naruto got a thumbs up from Choji, a half-hearted wave from Sasuke, a nod from Neji, and an enthusiastic wave and ‘good luck’ called from Ino in return.

Then Naruto turned back to the building, cracked his knuckles, and strode through the front door. The Jinchuriki grinned at the surprise the proctor on the other side of the door did a poor job of hiding.

His grin turned sharp when the proctor realized that Naruto had completely destroyed the seal anchoring the Genjutsu, allowing all of the Genin to enter uninhibited.

Naruto only strode further inside after the proctor swallowed heavily and looked away first.

* * *

Choji blinked when the illusion around the building fell as Naruto crossed the threshold.

It had been subtle, for sure. If Neji and Sasuke hadn’t been there, he probably would have taken a while to notice it.

The illusion made it seem as if the building had no door. The teams approaching would think they had to go around the building to get to it. Once close enough, they would be oblivious to most of their surroundings and continue to circle the building until they realized they were in a Genjutsu. Or they were released. Getting the illusion to waver would reveal the doors to get in.

That was how Sasuke explained it any way. Since he had his Sharingan spinning lazily as he did, Choji believed him.

“I bet they’re pissed that Naruto destroyed the whole thing.”

Choji could only agree with his blonde teammate.

At a nudge from Neji, Choji finished his snack and began to meditate. Neji’s Byakugan was already activated which meant the first real test was starting already. Choji slipped into his Sage Mode to help track Naruto’s chakra signature.

He was so focused, he barely heard Sasuke say something to Ino as she slipped off the bench and into the crowd. She would be gathering intelligence on Kumo while they were busy with the exams.

* * *

Kumogakure didn’t value teamwork to the same degree as Konoha. Few villages did. This exam was no different.

Konoha’s test, at least the time that Naruto participated, had tested teamwork and faith in your companions at every stage except the final tournament. This one was not designed like that.

It was set up so that while having a team or a temporary alliance could help you, you didn’t need it. Naruto didn’t really like it, but since he was competing on his own, it was beneficial.

The next test was a maze.

It reminded Naruto of Kakashi’s bell test.

The proctor’s and organizers weren’t happy that so many had made it into the building to register. Naruto didn’t care. They were informed that only the first 16 to make it to the center of the maze would move on to the final tournament stage. Naruto was curious if they had changed that after they saw how many got past the Genjutsu, or if it had been that way from the start.

The caveat meant that while working in a group would likely help you reach the center faster, few people would be willing to do it. What if your group showed up and there weren’t enough spaces left for everyone?

Naruto didn’t have to worry about that since he was not only working alone but was the only Konoha shinobi participating.

He just had to find his way through the maze.

* * *

Kurama sometimes wondered if Naruto didn’t do half the shit he did just to piss off the Bijuu.

Kurama knew for a fact the blonde wasn’t stupid or inept. He wouldn’t have bothered training the kid if that were the case. He wouldn’t have gotten _attached_.

But right now, the brat was testing his patience.

The maze should have been a simple test for them. For all that Naruto had been complaining about needing to take it alone, he still had Kurama.

But the brat was a fucking bleeding heart and kept stopping to chat with or help the tiny little Genin.

Kurama thought it was better to just squish the little things. They were _enemies_ after all.

Naruto started moving slower after Kurama said this.

Which was why he was certain the brat was doing it on purpose.

His threat of Sasuke never letting his failure down did nothing to motivate the blonde. He’d simply laughed and told Kurama he was monitoring the signatures in the center. There were only 12 there so far.

Kurama had only himself to blame for teaching the brat that trick.

* * *

Naruto was disappointed in the maze.

Sure, it was filled to the brim with traps. Some of them were quite nasty even. But it was boring.

Naruto spent most of his time keeping the less experienced Genin from getting caught in them. It made him wonder if the maze would have been harder, more of a challenge, two years ago.

He didn’t think so.

He kept one sense on the center of the maze where there was a small group of those that had passed. It was growing very slowly. It took several hours for the first four to make it.

Naruto made it to the center within the first hour. Less than, even. He hadn’t been counting but he was pretty sure it took him just over half-an hour. But that was boring. He was walking through the maze helping the little Genin and he was _still_ bored.

So, he had a Shadow Clone on standby near one of the exits to the center. He would wait until almost all of the spots were filled before he sent it out.

Kurama wasn’t happy with him. The fox felt he should be leaving them to their fate. But Naruto couldn’t bring himself to do that.

Well, the ones caught in the relatively harmless Genjutsu traps he left be.

When there were fourteen people in the center of the maze, he began to make his way there again.

He was annoyed to find a group of four Kumo shinobi blocking the entrance when he got there.

Four Kumo shinobi, and only two passing spots left. They had obviously stopped to have an internal dispute over who was going to be left behind.

Naruto leaned against the maze wall, blessedly solid at this exit, and watched the fight for a few minutes. His eyes were drawn up to the center as he felt a lone Genin join the group of 14 in the center, bringing the total to 15. Well, that was unfortunate for the group in front of him.

He turned his eyes to the group in front of him as he had his clone stride into the clearing. The Kumo group looked stunned when the call for the end of the exam rang throughout the maze.

Kurama rumbled his sadistic pleasure as Naruto himself strode past the four Genin into the clearing. One of them made an aborted move to stop him. Naruto could see the scolding on the proctor’s tongue as she turned to tell Naruto he was too late.

Naruto sidled up to his clone to sling one of his arms over its shoulders and grinned at the woman. Her eyes were wide. Genin weren’t supposed to know the Shadow Clone jutsu. But Naruto wasn’t a normal Genin. He never had been. He dispelled his clone with a forceful fist-bump.

“Next time, you should all walk out and make the proctors decide who stays and who goes.”

Naruto threw a wink towards the Kumo group still staring slack-jawed for good measure.

* * *

A was……displeased. To say the least.

The initial Genjutsu seal was supposed to thin the ranks considerably. It was only supposed to allow the strongest Genin through. Those powerful enough to disrupt the illusion and those smart enough to identify it.

But some upstart had destroyed the seal and flooded the maze with testers.

An upstart had _overloaded_ a seal, which his seal master insisted was impossible for a Genin.

Under normal circumstances, A would assume that one of the villages had sent a plant. Bee’s presence in his office, focused intently on the screens showing the contestants, suggested these circumstances were far from normal.

It was obvious which Genin had broken the seal. It was an older blonde, one of the oldest taking part this time around. And the only shinobi sent by Konoha.

It was strange for the Leaf to only send one participant when they were so focused on teamwork. Security footage showed that the blonde had arrived with four others of the same age who all sat out as soon as they’d approached the building.

He had been escorted, then. Which was never a good sign.

The blonde was also the one Bee seemed so focused on.

The proctor for the maze didn’t notice, but the security feed did. The blonde was the first to get to the center of the maze and chose not to enter. It took him 37 minutes. The first Genin to make it after him took another 2 hours and 9 minutes.

Then he secured his spot with a Shadow Clone, beating out a four-man squad of Kumo Genin to do it. Given that no one else had entered the center between the clone the original, they couldn’t even use that as a means to disqualify him.

From the maze, the group of 16 would be released into the village. They would get two days to recover and prepare before the tournament began. The entire tournament was set to a brutal pace. Over the course of 2 days, all the matches would be completed. And only the final would be held on the final day, and only so that the finalists could recover and give them a better match.

A wasn’t surprised to see Bee on the security feed approaching the tournament group.

The Raikage was almost certain Konoha had sent their Jinchuriki.

* * *

Naruto was suffering his friends’ well-meaning ribbing when Kurama suddenly snarled.

It was a sound that Naruto had never heard before. It made every hair stand on end, his heart race, and his neck break out into a cold sweat. The fox used what little influence their small alterations to the seal allowed him to force Naruto’s attention onto an approaching shinobi.

Sasuke spun to follow his line of sight, always attuned to Naruto’s body language. Neji tilted his head but didn’t otherwise indicate he was looking; he didn’t need to.

Ino kept one arm slung over Naruto’s shoulders but went still. Choji tucked away his latest snack.

The man was tall, but not excessively so. His skin was dark and contrasted strangely with his blonde hair. A neat goatee framed his mouth, and sunglasses hid his eyes. He was wearing the standard Kumo uniform without the undershirt.

Kurama didn’t stop snarling.

Naruto couldn’t hide his wince fast enough. Sasuke glanced at him but didn’t comment.

“Naruto.”

Neji’s voice was sharp as he called out to the blonde. But Naruto was well-aware of what the Hyuga was trying to tell him.

“I know.”

It was the entire reason Kurama was _snarling_.

“Yo yo yo.”

Sasuke didn’t let the man continue anything after the rhythmic greeting. One hand planted on the hilt of his sword and the other posed in a one-handed sign by his mouth, he slid in front of Naruto.

The man smartly paused. He seemed to consider the group in front of him. For a moment, Naruto thought he would make the mistake of dismissing Sasuke – and all the others – but then he hesitated, different from his pause, in a way that was familiar.

Naruto was raised by Kurama. He had been hearing his voice for most of his life. It was rare that he had to pause to listen to the demon over his surroundings anymore. But when he did, he looked just like that.

“Can we help you?”

Naruto was suddenly _very_ glad that Neji was with them. The older boy took charge of the situation quickly. He let Sasuke stay where he was but stepped up onto Naruto’s other side in a way that was all casual body language, but still put him in a position to be in the way should the man go for Naruto. All the while, his voice was calm and collected. Polite.

“Yo yo yo, The name’s Killer Bee. I think I can help you, little Jinchuriki.”

Naruto was glad he was such an open book. He hadn’t ever actually told any of his friends about his status. But he knew for certain they all already knew.

Sasuke’s stance didn’t so much as twitch. Naruto couldn’t see his face, but he was sure the brunette had narrowed his eyes. Naruto only opened that he hadn’t activated his Sharingan just yet.

The bulging vein’s along Neji’s temples said it was too late to hope the same of the Byakugan.

Ino was deceptively motionless against him. But Ino didn’t need to move.

Naruto swore he heard Choji crack his knuckles from behind him, but he didn’t want to risk taking his eyes off of the man in front of him.

The other Jinchuriki.

Kurama’s snarl had settled into a persistent rumbling growl.

“No. I don’t think you can.”

* * *

Bee had felt the presence as soon as it entered the village. It did a good job of suppressing itself, but Gyuki had the village coated in his chakra. They felt any major disturbances. Another Jinchuriki walking into the village was a big enough disturbance.

Watching the exam had been more fun than Bee was expecting. The Jinchuriki didn’t act anything like how Bee had expected. But he still had to meet him. He could probably help the kid control his Bijuu.

That was what was troubling Gyuki.

The Hachibi could detect that a Jinchuriki had entered the village, but he could not tell which Bijuu it was hosting. They weren’t around many Jinchuriki, so Bee wasn’t sure if that was a bad sign or not. But according to Gyuki, none of the others were as tolerant as he was.

Bee didn’t expect for the boy to nearly attack him just with a greeting.

It was interesting to watch the kid zero in on his presence as he got closer, even before he called out. It seemed he could sense other Jinchuriki, too.

Bee had wanted to scoff at the escort unit that immediately jumped between him and the boy. They couldn’t possibly hope to face him. The team could not have been chosen with the threat of being attacked by another Jinchuriki in mind.

Then he looked at the brunette standing in front of the blonde. Gyuki had shifted uncomfortably in his mind at the kid’s glare. Bee didn’t blame him. There didn’t seem to be anything special about it, yet it made him strangely uncomfortable all the same.

Then the Hyuga stepped up.

That changed things. Though not by much.

Bee played it nice. Kept his distance. Offered his help. Got turned down.

_He got turned down._

Gyuki was just as surprised as he was.

* * *

Kurama didn’t trust any of his siblings.

Not a single one of them.

Shukaku was batshit insane. Kurama didn’t care how well he seemed to be doing at the moment or how attached Naruto was to the other’s host.

Matabi wasn’t as openly hostile of humans, but she was manipulative.

Isobu was a shut in, preferring isolation to confronting any sort of problem or conflict. Kurama thought he was unreliable and a coward.

Son Goku was a prideful, arrogant, overconfident asshole. Kurama wouldn’t trust him with a human ever. There was a time when Kurama appreciated that about the Yonbi. But Kurama had different priorities now.

Kokuo was tolerable, but still untrustworthy in the Kyuubi’s opinion. She was not as outright hateful to humans, and even came off as respectful sometimes. But it meant she looked down on them. Didn’t care. Even if it wasn’t entirely intentional.

Saiken was stupid. The Rokubi had a weird fascination with humans. In that respect, Kurama probably wouldn’t be bothered if he approached his host. But he was stupid and could not be trusted to keep anything alive.

Chomei was insufferable. No one was that consistently happy. And Chomei was not as lucky as he tried to make himself out to be. The insect was just as likely to arbitrarily wipe out a village as to save one simply because he was bored.

And then there was Gyuki. Kurama had a special sort of distrust and dislike for Gyuki. The Ushi-Oni had it in his head that their tails had nothing to do with their strength. Kurama didn’t disagree, but to do so out loud would be to inflate Shukaku’s already enormous head. The idiot didn’t need any more fuel for his deranged ego. Besides, it didn’t change the fact that Kurama was still the strongest.

But Gyuki was a special kind of insufferable. A know-it-all. He felt he was always in the right. That he was better than the rest of them for an entirely different reason than Kurama did. Kurama didn’t trust any of his siblings. But he especially didn’t trust Gyuki. He didn’t like him either. In fact, he’d go so far to say he hated him.

So, of course, the Ushi-Oni was the Bijuu currently residing in Kumo.

Fucking fantastic.

Kurama could feel him before his host was in sight. He’d hoped they would move in a different direction. But for all that he hated Gyuki, the Hachibi was decent at tracking. Short of leaving the village, they wouldn’t be able to lose him.

Kurama settled to snarling at the other Bijuu. Naruto was the only one who could hear him, but it made him feel better. He would worry about feeling sorry for startling the brat later.

Gyuki’s host managed to be worse than his host.

He thought that _he_ could help Naruto? What could the fool possibly know enough about to teach his host.

Kurama urged his host to punch the surprised look off the man’s face. Naruto either didn’t hear him or, more likely, ignored him.

The man couldn’t take a hint though. He continued to press the issue in that ridiculous rap style he had adopted. It grated on every one of Kurama’s nerves.

They wanted to control him? _HIM?!_ The Kyuubi no Kitsune and strongest of the Bijuu?

Naruto snorted in time with Kurama’s disbelief.

At least his host was sensible enough not to fool himself into thinking he had any control over the demon in his head.

(Kurama conveniently forgot that he usually ended up doing what Naruto wanted him to anyway.)

Kurama had heard enough though. Gyuki needed put in his place. It was obvious that he didn’t know which of their siblings he was talking to.

A gentle nudge was all he needed to get Naruto to let him through. He didn’t need control. He just needed to make a point.

**“Fuck off, Gyuki.”**

* * *

Sasuke knew that Naruto was Kyuubi’s Jinchuriki. He had known for a while.

It didn’t mean that feeling the beast’s chakra didn’t unsettle him.

Hearing a voice that wasn’t Naruto’s come from Naruto was worse, though.

A glance told him his friend was still in control. But his eyes were that strange red that meant he was channeling the demon’s chakra. The deep, gravel voice impossible for human vocal cords meant he’d let it bleed through the seal.

Sasuke didn’t know what a Gyuki was, but if it had the Kyuubi irritated it couldn’t possibly be good.

* * *

Ino had a reputation among their friend group of being terrifying.

All the girls did.

But Ino was a different kind of terrifying. She knew things. Things she had no right knowing. Shikamaru didn’t seem to mind because it meant she was helpful when he was scheming.

Ino was terrifying because she _could_ literally take over someone’s mind.

She was terrifying because she didn’t _need_ to.

The man in front of them had managed, in a few short sentences, to piss off their entire group. _Including_ the _Bijuu_.

It was time Ino reminded them all, and taught this jackass, just how terrifying she could be.

A flex of her chakra, a wisp of intent, and with a ripple down her left arm to indicate the activation of her contract seal several hyenas appeared to rise from her shadow.

She would have to remind herself to thank Naruto and Tenten for this. It was so much more intimidating when she didn’t have to form the seals.

The man in front of them had clearly written off their escort group. He hadn’t expected one of them to make the move.

“You’ve outstayed your welcome.”

Echoing laughter surrounding them as her summons circled.

“Please leave.”

Everyone knew it wasn’t a request.

* * *

The two days before the tournament passed by faster than Naruto had been expecting.

It probably helped that they had a running tally on how many times Ino could get in and out of their secret archives in that time.

She wanted to see if she could beat it while the tournament was in progress.

Choji reminded her that she would miss Naruto’s matches then.

According to her, not missing them was what made it a challenge.

* * *

Neji and Choji were stationed in the stands so they could keep an eye on the area and still watch Naruto.

Sasuke remained by one of the ground entrances to the arena.

They were all a little paranoid after what happened the last time Naruto participated in an exam.

Naruto cleared the first round with ease.

In fact, it was barely a fight at all. The poor Genin that was his opponent was clearly a new graduate. Naruto wasn’t even sure how he managed to clear the maze.

His second opponent put up more of a fight. Naruto still only needed one Shadow Clone.

And on it went.

His battles didn’t get much harder until the semifinal round. The last of the day.

His opponent was one of three older testers, including Naruto, who had passed through the maze.

He managed to push Naruto pretty hard. The fight dragged on for almost an hour in a stalemate. Naruto was unwilling to use the Kyuubi’s cloak, or any seals.

He wanted to save his seal knowledge for the finals.

He didn’t want the village to know about the Kyuubi.

With the way the Hachibi’s host had acted earlier, it was likely everyone would recognize what he was if he so much as channeled any of Kurama’s chakra.

Naruto won the semifinals with his massive chakra reserves. He’d barely put a dent in his supply when the other finally collapsed.

Naruto ignored Sasuke’s unimpressed look as he returned backstage.

His final opponent tomorrow was the other older tester. A girl from Kumo.

Hopefully she was a tougher opponent.

* * *

Neji wasn’t sure how the promotions from this tournament were supposed to work.

Tsunade was not here to watch Naruto’s performance. He was sure to take copious notes in case he was asked his opinion, but at the rate he was going, Naruto was sure to win the whole thing. There would be no reason to not to promote him then.

Neji made sure to keep part of his attention on the Raikage, and the strange man from yesterday. Neither of them made a move at any point, but he still didn’t trust them.

Watching Naruto’s final match was anticlimactic.

Neji had seen the girl fight the day before. She had a lot of promise.

He also noticed that almost all the Kumo shinobi were arrogant.

She obviously hadn’t watched any of Naruto’s matches. Her strategy would have been sound on anyone else. She used a jutsu that Neji was sure was a family technique to rapidly drain Naruto of his chakra supply. If that was all that it did, she may have still won. But it was vampiric. What she took from Naruto was added to herself. To her already full chakra reserves.

Neji winced sympathetically as he watched several of her coils burst. That was going to be a long, painful recovery.

He wasn’t surprised when she passed out.

Naruto did not look pleased that all he’d had to do was stand there.

* * *

Naruto was now a Chunin.

Technically, it wouldn’t be official until he got back to the village and Tsunade did whatever she had to do for him. But he had won the tournament and was now a Chunin.

He should have insisted Sasuke or someone from his group participate just to give him a challenge.

Getting out of the village had been trickier than they’d expected if only because they wanted to avoid Kumo’s Jinchuriki.

The Raikage had attempted to have a private meeting with Naruto as well, but Neji simply activated his Byakugan to show that was impossible.

Naruto was pretty sure it also had something to do with the story about his father’s death. Kumo had been involved in that, hadn’t they?

Based on how the Raikage and several other shinobi around at the time paled or became angry, Naruto was confident he was right.

But they did make it out, and Neji reassured them no one was following them.

Nothing had happened at the exams. He had passed and would be promoted as soon as he got back to Konoha.

Naruto should have known it wouldn’t be that easy.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to put the entire exams in one chapter, so here is the extra long chapter I promised before. 6200 words. Naruto ended up a little more OP than I intended, but with mostly freshly graduated Genin, let's be honest. Naruto is going to wreck them. 
> 
> Now, it is nearly 5 am here, and I should have gone to bed hours ago. I wanted to post this, but did not have the patience or coherency to edit it properly. I will do that tomorrow (later today?) and make any necessary changes then. 
> 
> Oh, I'm sorry about how Bee gets treated this chapter. I don't actually hate him. He just doesn't get along well with this Naruto. Yet.


	8. Part Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is isn't paranoia if someone is really out to get you. The hunt is on. A slight interlude.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PATIENCE!! I FINALLY HAVE AN UPDATE FOR YOU!!
> 
> So...this chapter is short. I'm sorry. You've waited all this time for a real chapter and it's under 3,000 words. BUT it's a necessary chapter. 
> 
> We're taking a look into what has been going on in the village while Naruto has been kicking ass, taking names, and getting promoted. 
> 
> Fun fact: My brother recently watched and finished Naruto (including the epilogue episodes I refuse to watch). I managed to watch a handful of episodes with him, including the one where reanimated Itachi fights with Naruto and uses the crow with Shisui's eye on himself. During his very brief exposition about how he got the eye he mentions how Shisui gave it to him before he "disappeared". That's right, disappeared, not died. I was shook. Though, this was through Hulu and I can't speak one way or the other as to the quality of their subtitles, but still. Also, it lends credence to all the stories that say he's alive. Including this one. We're not yet to the point where he explains that little tidbit. But we're pretty close. Hang tight!
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter, and that it is worth the wait. Chapter 9 is in the works and it shouldn't be too long before it's up!

Shikamaru would likely go down as the most intelligent Nara in history. At least to date.

Of course, Shikamaru was far too humble to think there would never be someone smarter than him down the road. Or that he was the smartest – Nara or otherwise. But his friends would.

Shikamaru would, however, agree that he was perhaps the most _dangerous_ Nara in a very long while.

The clan was renowned for its intelligence. It was just as infamous for its laziness and lack of ambition. Most shinobi weren’t stupid enough to equate this with the clan being harmless or not dangerous. But Shikamaru was far more active, far more motivated than the rest of his clan. He had friends to help and protect. He had an Elder, a _Councilman_ to bring down. He couldn’t afford to sleep all day and watch the clouds.

Finding the necessary evidence to damn their target was difficult, but not impossible. And while Shikamaru didn’t currently have possession of said evidence, he knew it existed. That was more than the mere suspicions he’d had before.

The problem as that _someone else_ had the evidence.

It took them far too long to find the secret vault filled with a wealth of top-secret information. Except none of it was what he needed to take down Danzo. But there had been an empty file. The thief was good, but either didn’t notice they’d left a trail, or didn’t care.

Shikamaru wasn’t a tracker. Strategy, reconnaissance, and assassination were his specialties. Spying was _not_ the same as tracking.

Shikamaru wasn’t a tracker, but Kiba and Shino were.

* * *

Shisui was sure that when he was caught, because he wasn’t deluded and knew he would be eventually, that it would be Kakashi that caught him. He was not expecting it to be a couple of Chunin and a newly promoted Jounin.

With his clan practically extinct, very few people would be able to recognize him outright. Kakashi and Itachi, certainly. Danzo probably. Maybe Sasuke if the boy remembered him well enough. The only others were the handful from his ANBU squad. And yet…

“Uchiha Shisui. Aren’t you supposed to be dead?”

He might be just a Chunin, but he was a Nara. It was no surprise he knew _exactly_ who Shisui was, and what his standing there meant. Shisui spared a brief moment to scold himself for not noticing a Nara was involved in something outside of the command center before he grinned and shrugged.

“You shouldn’t believe everything you read.”

Humour and sarcasm were his default defense mechanisms. They worked well to either have his opponents underestimate him by dismissing him as stupid and incompetent, or by throwing them off-balance enough for him to capitalize on an opening. The group in front of him didn’t even blink at his quip. Though, the Inuzuka gave in to a smirk, at least. The Aburame was the most difficult to get a read on if only because his clothes left him almost entirely hidden; all Shisui had to go on was a nose and forehead.

“I’m impressed you managed to find me.”

The Inuzuka’s eye twitched visibly, but Shisui couldn’t tell if it was from anger at the implied slight, or amusement at the backhanded compliment. The Aburame cocked his head ever so slightly at the hidden question of how exactly they’d managed. Which meant that it was likely his Kikaichuu that had and still were keeping the three of them muted to his senses.

“What do you want with top-secret files?”

Playing stupid with a Nara was just as dangerous as playing stupid with a Yamanaka. The Yamanaka would simply take what they needed directly from your head. The state they’d leave you in was determined by how well you cooperated. The Nara though? They usually already knew it. The Yamanaka would pull the lever, but the Nara would hand you rope and a stool and watch you hang yourself. So, Shisui didn’t bother. If they knew he had the file, then they were looking for it themselves. Or they were sent by Danzo to retrieve it.

Danzo would come himself to take his other eye. They weren’t sent by Danzo.

“Does Kakashi know you’ve found me?”

_That_ got a reaction. From all three. The Inuzuka’s body language changed immediately. Gone was the young Chunin with a relaxed stance trying to look intimidating. Gone was the lazy Nara with a half-finished puzzle in front of him. Gone was the suffocating cloud of Kikaichuu.

Suddenly, Shisui knew exactly how they found him.

The Inuzuka shifted seamlessly into a battle stance that pinged only vaguely as familiar in Shisui’s mind in that way that meant he had seen it before, but probably only once. He couldn’t place it, but he _knew_ it wasn’t an _Inuzuka_ stance. The boy was no longer relaxed and trying to look intimidating. Instead, he was a dangerous threat – all bite and absolutely no bark. Shisui didn’t need the growl to tell him that.

The Nara straightened from his slouch, hands hanging loosely at his sides instead of resting deep in his pockets. His weight was well-balanced on the balls of his feet. The shadows had thickened and darkened and spread. Shisui was certain they were writhing at the boy’s feet just waiting to ensnare his own. He met Shisui’s single eye without any fear.

The Aburame didn’t move. He remained completely still and frozen as if made of stone. But his Kikaichuu hummed in the air before they settled and cleared. Suddenly, Shisui could sense the three in front of him in crystal clarity, his senses no longer dulled. They did not have the chakra of two Chunin and a newly promoted Jounin. Shisui had sorely miscalculated.

“ _You’re_ the reason Kakashi-sensei has been so stressed?”

If Shisui was a lesser man, he would have flinched at the Inuzuka’s snarl. Shisui was mostly amused at the defensive protectiveness the three had for his former squad leader. After all, he was far from a lesser man. So Shisui grinned and let red bleed into his eye.

It was hard to tell if the Aburame was making eye contact through the dark lenses. The Nara’s eyes shifted just enough to know he was no longer making eye contact but was instead looking at either his forehead or his nose. The Inuzuka clearly didn’t care.

“Why did you take the files?”

It seemed the Nara couldn’t be distracted quite so easily. Shisui shrugged lazily, abruptly shifting his demeanor once again. It might be ineffective against the Nara and even the Aburame, but he could tell it was starting to work on the Inuzuka.

“Danzo took my eye.”

The Inuzuka and Aburame couldn’t hide their flinches. The Nara looked like the cat that caught the canary _and_ got the cream.

“I want it back.”

* * *

Orochimaru was not a patient man. Sure, he could play the long game. He could even play it fairly well. But he was impatient, and it always came back to bite him in the ass. He would get sloppy, and subsequently, he would get caught.

He got cocky and sloppy with his experiments. Sensei found out and confronted him, forcing him to flee the village.

He tried to subdue Itachi before the man trusted him and lost a hand. Now he knew the man would never have trusted him enough for him to be successful. Telling himself that moving when he did only saved him time did nothing to soothe the sting of failure.

He spent weeks, months, and years planning the attack on Konoha. Building his own village just so he could enter his own into the competition for an inside source alone took years. Months went into observing the Kazekage to get his mannerisms down. He successfully placed the curse seal during the second task. But he’d wanted revenge on his sensei. Wanted to brag about his abilities the old fool had scoffed at and scorned. He’d lost the use of his arms to a seal for his efforts. And Konoha withstood the attack.

Uchiha Sasuke was supposed to be his perfect replacement and his team had failed. He should have sent Kimimaro from the start, but the man had been on another assignment and Orochimaru was _impatient_.

Hindsight was always 20/20.

Kabuto could only preserve his current body for so long. He _had_ to find a replacement. One that wouldn’t rot so quickly.

He wondered if the near corpse in front of him would even rot at all. Whether it would or wouldn’t was mostly irrelevant. It came down to if he could trust the donor.

“Zetsu.”

No need to be rude to his guest.

“It has been a long time.”

* * *

Sakura was one of the top medic-ninja in the entire village, second only to Tsunade and Shizune. Her strength was that there was very little she couldn’t heal. Many often went on to specialize, even Tsunade (surgery) and Shizune (chakric damage) had their specialties. Sakura wasn’t quite so limited.

It meant she had to work harder and longer to master everything, but it meant she was indispensable. If someone was dying, she could help them. One day, someone close to her would be that someone and she was determined to make sure that no matter the reason, she could fix it.

It also meant she had nearly unfettered access to the entire village’s medical records.

They were all stored in the same room without exception. Some of them were more classified than others, and as such were appropriately locked and sealed. But they were _there_ just the same. She went in and out of the room several times a shift, so the sight wasn’t the least bit suspicious.

She wasn’t a seal master. She knew very little about seals beyond the very basics she needed to know to avoid blowing up her exploding tags prematurely or ruining her storage scrolls. But Tenten was very well versed.

Sakura spent several days meticulously copying out every seal on the locked files, making sure she didn’t mess up a single brushstroke. But it was finally her turn to help her friends with something only she could do, and she _refused_ to mess it up.

Tenten gave her the counter seals and Sakura got to work. Sakura was loud and bright and confrontational. Many assumed she couldn’t do subtle. It just meant that if they got sloppy, she was unlikely to be viewed as a suspect.

Shikamaru requested the medical files on Danzo. They were one of those very heavily sealed, but they were the easy ones. Shikamaru also wanted her to get the medical records of an Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Kagami. Sakura didn’t know why but didn’t bother to ask. Shikamaru had been doing a lot of delegating and compartmentalizing. He didn’t want them all knowing everything. He was the only one with the whole picture. But both the Uchihas were dead, which made finding the files tricky. The filing system for the dead was a lot less organized.

None of that stopped her from skimming the records before handing them over. Shikamaru was likely to ask her to go through it with him later anyway. The boy was a genius, but he was not a medic. She found it very interesting that Kagami had two autopsy reports, and Shisui’s body had never been found.

It was clear that one of Kagami’s reports was real and one was public. Since she had skimmed Danzo’s file as well, she could guess which one was real. And she didn’t like the terrifying implications.

* * *

Kakashi didn’t expect to find a dead man sitting on his couch.

He didn’t expect the dead man to be very much alive.

Kakashi had not seen Uchiha Shisui since well before the night he reportedly died. Kakashi had been out of the village a lot around then, being sent on several back-to-back long-term undercover missions. He’d spent quite a few days (weeks) regretting that. If he had been in-village, he may have been able to help.

Except the man was sitting on his couch, in his living room, alive and not dead. So, apparently, it wasn’t quite as it had seemed.

The file on the table in front of the younger man told him why his search had been so fruitless. He’d been chasing a ghost without even knowing it.

“Your heir was adamant that I should reveal myself to you…well…myself.”

Kakashi didn’t know if he should be more worried that Shisui had been speaking to Kiba, or that Kiba was telling people he was the only Hatake’s heir.

“I got a letter from Itachi.”

Evade and deflect. Don’t show them that you’re rattled. Shisui had always been a sarcastic little shit. It had only gotten worse after he started working under Kakashi.

“I know.”

So much for deflecting.

“I followed his crow here.”

“That was _your_ Sharingan eye.”

It wasn’t a question. If it was, they both knew the answer. Shisui opened his eye to reveal lazily spinning tomoe.

“It’s probably time we all started working together instead of unintentionally sabotaging the others.”

Shisui leaned away from the file as he spoke to encourage Kakashi to step forward and take it. He did.

“I gave a copy to the little Nara and his group as well. He barely had to glance at it before he was contacting someone about obtaining additional information.”

Kakashi was relieved at hearing Shikamaru was involved. It meant that Kiba wasn’t doing anything stupid. It meant that Kiba wasn’t doing anything stupid _alone_ or _unsupervised_.

Shisui didn’t say anything else while Kakashi flipped through the documents. It was all of the evidence Itachi told him existed. **_And more._** The Jounin Instructor knew without needing to be told that the pressure was suddenly on. They were very pressed for time to get everything in place. Shikamaru would want this handled before Naruto, and subsequently Sasuke, returned from Kumogakure.

Sasuke and Naruto walking through the village gates would be the signal to move on Danzo. Kakashi would have to tell Yamato so he could get Sai and the new recruits to safety.

“Do you have a way to contact Itachi?”

Shisui grinned.

* * *

Itachi never expected to see the bird in front of him outside of distant flocks ever again. But this one had landed in front of him specifically. It was intelligent. It had a letter in its grasp.

It wasn’t his crow.

The beak and feet were bloody red though there was no blood. The feathers dark as pitch.

The letter was signed by Hatake Kakashi, but the summons was **_Shisui’s_**.

They were going to clear his name. He would be able to go home.

It had been a long time since Itachi allowed himself to cry.

* * *

It isn’t paranoia if someone is really out to get you.

Danzo could feel a pinprick of discomfort at the back of his neck that usually meant someone was watching him. Except the feeling never went away. It didn’t matter where he was, or what he was doing, the pinprick was there.

He’d taken to rotating his guards more frequently to smoke out what he was sure was a traitor. But that did nothing. The feeling was unchanged with the rotation, which meant it was someone outside of ROOT. That should be impossible, but Danzo hadn’t gotten where he was by being _trusting_.

It isn’t paranoia if someone is really out to get you.

There had been a break in at the information center in ROOT headquarters. It was a bold move. There was evidence that something was taken, but not what. But upon questioning every member, including the half-baked experiment that thought it had escaped into the light of the Hokage’s attention, revealed nothing. Despite using the seal to force the truth out of them, none of them knew who had managed it. Not even the guards that had been on duty.

He didn’t have Hiruzen to guilt-trip into protecting him. To manipulate with half-truths and bald-faced lies. Tsunade had never trusted him. And she wasn’t as cowed by the council, perfectly aware they had no real power over her. And she didn’t have the connection to them that Hiruzen had had.

Danzo would prefer not to have to force an outright coup.

It isn’t paranoia if someone is really out to get you.

He would find the threat. And he would eliminate it.

It isn’t paranoia if someone is really out to get you.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, Shisui's summons are not crows. I wanted them to be similar though. So they are Corvids. They're Choughs. The one mentioned is specifically a red-billed Chough. Very similar to a crow. 
> 
> So, for those interested, here is a brief summary of the drama of my life that lead to such a delay in this chapter. If you are uninterested, feel free to stop reading here:
> 
> So my laptop. I needed a new one. It took me a while to find a model I wanted that came in the specs I preferred. Then I had to convince myself to hit buy cause tech isn't cheap, you know? Then I had to wait for it to get here, and delivery got delayed, and I had to transfer files. Cool. Then I had to re-read my own story so I didn't contradict myself and mess something up. But then I had to find motivation and kick down the wall that is writer's block. 
> 
> You can thank "All My Ghosts are at Rest" by Zakad for this (can someone explain how to link a story/series cause I can't figure it out :'[ ). Cause I was re-reading the series and afterwards just really wanted to write. I was struck with inspiration. Thus, this chapter. Now I just have to write chapter 9. Which is now the chapter with that character I needed to do research on to do them justice. I have not done it besides skimming a wiki. So I'm winging them and I hope I do ok. Fingers crossed. 
> 
> Finally!!! I noticed for some reason, while writing this chapter, I kept slipping into present tense. I think I caught it all and fixed it, but if you notice it anywhere please let me know so that I can fix it. Inconsistent tenses is one of my biggest pet peeves while reading, so of course it's one of the things I have the most trouble with when writing. Please, please, please let me know if you noticed it anywhere. Except the paranoia line. It just sounded really weird in past-tense for me, so I left it as it is. 
> 
> Thank you all! Until next time!


	9. Part Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An actual fight scene!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GO READ CHAPTER 8 RIGHT NOW! IT'S A REAL CHAPTER NOW!!
> 
> Warning: There is more swearing than usual in this chapter due to the nature of one of the characters. 
> 
> Hey look! I'm back! And with an actual fight scene! For the record, I wrote this chapter twice. It's not as long as I was hoping to make it for you guys, but it's much longer than it was. The first time through, it was barely 1500 words. Now it's about 3400. And it's one big fight scene. You're welcome. 
> 
> Let me know how the action is, aka if I did ok or if it sucked, because I'm not used to writing so much detail in this work's particular style. I also think I just suck at action scenes. I either give it too much detail, or not enough. 
> 
> But enough from me, you've waited long enough. ENJOY!!

_Nothing had happened at the exams. He had passed and would be promoted as soon as he got back to Konoha._

_Naruto should have known it wouldn’t be that easy._

* * *

Hidan loved a good chase. It made the fight more exciting.

Kakuzu hated when the target ran, but Hidan wished the fucker would shut the fuck up and let him enjoy the thrill.

They’d brought in their share of Jinchuuriki and brought plenty of others to their knees. Figuratively and literally. Hidan wasn’t concerned that this particular one had run. They’d gotten in decent hits that would slow him down. Now if only Kakuzu would shut up about how time was money.

Running into the blonde that got away that one time, though? That was just icing on the cake.

Hidan was really going to enjoy this.

He wouldn’t underestimate the kid a second time. Contrary to what his partner thought, he wasn’t fucking stupid.

He couldn’t help his laugh as he sauntered out of the trees, grinning at the look on the target’s face.

* * *

Utakata had been running from Kirigakure for the past several years. He’d been _hiding_ from Kirigakure for the past several years.

He’d been running from these men for the past two days and he was more exhausted than he’d ever been during his flight from Kiri.

His student hadn’t survived their initial attack. He didn’t want a student and he hadn’t wanted her to stick around, but that did nothing for his guilt about not being able to protect her.

It did nothing to get him to stop calling her his student.

Now she was dead, and he was all alone, fleeing powerful opponents he just couldn’t shake.

He’d been so concerned with fleeing the white-haired man that just kept dogging his heels that he saw the group in front of him too late to avoid them. Sloppy work for any shinobi worth their salt. Regardless, he hit the ground right in front of a blonde boy too close and moving to fast to stop himself from barreling into him. They hit the ground together in a painful pile of tangled limbs that had Utakata cursing. He couldn’t afford to be stalled.

The laughter echoing the field told him it was already too late. Whatever expression he made as he looked over at the missing ninja had the man grinning viciously.

“Ow. What the hell?!”

His attention was forcefully redirected to the blonde he’d hit. Only, it wasn’t the boy glaring at him from the dirt. Instead, a young blonde girl pinned him with hard green eyes. Just past her the boy was pushing himself into a seated position.

“Awh, man. Not you again.”

Utakata was a slightly offended at the boy’s whine. He had never met the boy before.

“Payback’s a bitch!”

More laughter accompanied the white-haired man’s lunge. Utakata tried to scramble up to put himself between the man and the girl he’d also hit. But the man didn’t even seem to see him anymore. Instead, he breezed right past him as he made a beeline for the boy still pulling himself to his feet. There was no way for him to react in time to help.

Another brunette was though. The missing ninja’s large scythe slammed into the blade of a katana and Utakata was surprised to see the boy’s grip held.

The group had to be larger than he’d initially thought, because a boy with light brown hair was slamming into the enemy to throw him aside with ease while another boy with darker hair than the brunette helped the blonde boy to his feet. Utakata didn’t know how far behind the man’s partner was so he didn’t waste anymore time in doing the same with the girl.

“I’m sorry. They’re after me. Please leave while you can.”

The side glance from the blonde boy was disconcerting. None of them looked like they were even considering leaving. Then the blonde looked away.

“Nah. They went after me once too. Pretty sure they’re not going to let me leave.”

Well. That was surprising. That likely meant the boy was also a Jinchuuriki. It would explain his large entourage.

“I managed to hold them off last time. With this many shinobi, we can take them.”

The blonde shared a grin with the dark brunette that helped him up, both far to feral to be reassuring. The blonde girl just laughed while the brown-haired boy sporting bright red armor cracked his knuckles. The first brunette did nothing but look off to the side.

“Second enemy approaching. Naruto, Sasuke – take this man. Choji – assist me with the other. Ino – stay with him and give us support.”

Utakata was as impressed with the young Jounin’s instructions as he was annoyed with the implication that he would not be fighting. That he needed a babysitter. He was a _Jinchuuriki_. He needed no such thing.

He didn’t get much say in the matter.

* * *

Kurama hated his siblings.

He was going to kill Saiken.

The idiot couldn’t even keep his own host alive. The man looked like he was falling apart and dead on his feet. What was the idiot even _doing_?! This was why he would never trust the stupid slug.

Not that Kurama could blame his brother this time. The people chasing him, and his host were nasty. He and Naruto had some difficulty with them the last time they fought. Saiken was no pushover, but he wasn’t the strongest of their siblings either. Just this once, Kurama would help him.

He could tell already that Naruto had no intention of letting it be just this once.

Kurama cursed his brother (and all his siblings while he was at it) even as he fed Naruto two tails worth of chakra.

* * *

Kakuzu didn’t get paid enough for this shit.

He drew up to a stop just outside the tree line. Their target had gotten extraordinarily lucky. Not only had he run into a group of shinobi, but it was a group of shinobi willing to offer him assistance. _On top of **that**_ , said group included the blonde Jinchuuriki for the Kyuubi that had gotten away from them a year ago.

The Jinchuuriki had managed to do significant damage to him and Hidan a year ago, and now he had a group with him. Considering Hidan was already in the middle of battle on the other side of the clearing, Kakuzu had no way to retreat with him. They were going to have to fight.

Time was money, and Kakuzu didn’t get paid enough for this shit.

* * *

Hidan’s fighting style had always been unorthodox.

Running straight at an enemy without flinching and with no intention of dodging when they were leveling a fatal blow at you was usually enough to rattle even the staunchest shinobi. He fought like this even before he was partnered with Kakuzu.

Shinobi rarely went for such devastating physical attacks like decapitation or bisection. Their weapons were more than deadly, but they were designed to be light and fast. They severed arteries and veins to cause massive hemorrhaging or pierced vital organs more than they cut through bone

It was the fucking samurai with their tougher, longer, broader katana that liked to decapitate and amputate.

Hidan wasn’t stupid. As long as he could stitch something back on, he could survive. But he couldn’t stitch his head back on when he couldn’t move his body, so he’d always avoided those blows. For the most part.

Once he was partnered with Kakuzu? He could take even those without flinching because if _he_ couldn’t stitch it, the fucking miser could.

He healed faster than most, but he’d never taken his chance with regenerating his limbs. Even if he could, it would likely be slow going, and he couldn’t afford to stay out of commission for so long.

He didn’t care all that much for the Akatsuki, but they let him kill whatever the fuck he wanted. Also, he tended to get funny when he went too long without killing.

But despite his change in tactics, despite his foolhardy, near suicidal fighting style, Hidan _did_ know how to dodge. He knew how to fight as if those fatal blows were still fatal. He was a fucking _shinobi_. It would be pitiful if he couldn’t.

This blonde brat had bisected him once before. Had managed to take out not one but _two_ of Kakuzu’s disgusting hearts the last time they fought. He could not afford to take the hits like he normally would, or he’d end up in the same situation he had the last time. With Kakuzu held up across the clearing with his own opponents, his partner wouldn’t be able to stitch him up mid battle.

Hidan’s grin stretched his face and his laughter leaked out again. It had been a long time since Hidan had felt truly challenged in a fight. Being immortal seemed to do that. It meant even the best of the best couldn’t kill him.

But this kid just might be able to _beat_ him.

Practically the same thing in their line of work.

So, Hidan wielded his large scythe in one hand, and one of his poles in the other and lunged. The blonde stepped back, the dark brunette at his side stepped up, and Hidan spun. It seemed the Hyuuga was not the only one capable of Kenjutsu.

The brunette was fast with his shorter blade, flowing from one smooth strike to the next. Hidan continued to play it safe and dodged the blows with comparatively clumsy but unpredictable movements.

He could feel the wind from the blonde’s building jutsu at his back, impressed the other kid had managed to corral him so effectively. He reveled in their shock as he pivoted on one foot to cut through the jutsu before it could reach him while in the same move sidestepped the brunette’s lunge and cut a neat line along his clavicle.

Normally he would spend time to gloat over his victory. With his blood in hand, the brunette was dead.

Instead, Hidan jumped back from both teens to ensure there was ample space between them. Then he licked the end of his pole while stabbing his leg with his scythe, spilling enough blood to make a normal shinobi dizzy.

The two recovered quickly and he had to concentrate to make sure his feet could drag across the ground just right to make his ritual circle while dodging the blonde’s strikes, the brunette now powering up what was sure to be a massive elemental jutsu.

He was not disappointed. The kid launched a colossal fireball. The blonde leapt out of the way just in time for Hidan to complete the circle before it hit.

There was a pause before the brunette hissed and cursed profusely.

Hidan came out covered in severe burns that matched perfectly with the burns now littering the brat who’d tried to roast him. He cackled again. Now, so long as he stayed inside the circle, they could not touch him without also harming their comrade.

Oh, how their precious friendship was turned against them.

Hidan blinked into awareness as a blade cut clean through his neck in one smooth motion, not even catching on his spine. He could do nothing but gape as his head hit the ground and rolled. Nothing but blink and wonder how the fuck he lost. The brunette should be dead, but he’d been the one to fearlessly deliver the killing blow.

His cursing head was ignored as the two boys immediately turned towards Kakuzu to lend aid to the others.

* * *

Ino was perfectly capable of holding her own in a taijutsu fight against average shinobi.

It was clear neither of these men were average.

She didn’t appreciate being put on babysitting duty but understood that it was probably necessary to keep the new guy from interfering with their teamwork. Not to mention the guy looked one step away from collapsing.

Support from a distance was her specialty when she wasn’t sneaking into places she wasn’t supposed to be.

(Just wait until Shikamaru saw the intel she gathered from Kumo.)

Ino might not be a Nara, but she _was_ a _Yamanaka_. Monitoring two battles, even ones of this caliber, was no issue. It was concerning that the men could put up so much of a fight against two opponents simultaneously, but none of the boys seemed to have taken significant damage.

Until Sasuke launched a Gokakyu no Jutsu and came out just as burned as the man in question.

Ino had been training with Shikamaru for most of her life and she was one of the cornerstones for their private investigation. She was perfectly capable of on the fly deductions.

Shikamaru’s strategy would probably have been better. But hers did the trick.

The man was arrogant and overconfident, and it distracted him in his moment of apparent victory. It lasted for only a moment, but a moment was all she needed to cast her clan’s jutsu and take control.

The man’s skin faded back to normal the moment she had him past the ritual circle painted in his own blood. Sasuke didn’t hesitate to decapitate him from there.

She registered the fact his head was still talking even after being separated from his body but didn’t dwell. There was still one more to go.

Her summons sprang forth to join Sasuke and Naruto as they ran across the clearing. The other man didn’t seem so easily distracted.

* * *

Naruto hated his luck sometimes. Everyone around him always said he was the luckiest of their group, but he would beg to differ.

His parents died the day he was born, sealing a demon in his belly (his _head_ ) at the same time. The village shunned and hated him, forcing the demon to raise him. He technically failed his graduation exam. He failed his first Chunin exam. He was attacked by these guys while out training with a legendary Sannin. And now he was being attacked again. This was supposed to be a simple trip, and now they were fighting the Akatsuki.

Yes, he’d paid attention during his travels with Jiraiya.

Naruto isn’t proud of the fact that he’d frozen when Sasuke was burned. The fire hadn’t touched him, but he’d still gotten burnt.

How was he supposed to fight the guy if the damage was turned back on Sasuke?

If it had been Naruto, he wouldn’t have hesitated. Kurama could surely heal anything he could throw at himself.

But Naruto wasn’t alone anymore and he was very thankful when Ino stepped in to help. He hadn’t noticed the circle on the ground. He was sure Sasuke hadn’t either, but he wasn’t going to bring that up with him.

Ino would do that for them later.

Naruto would admit that it was the other man that was more concerning to him. He’d discarded his hat and cloak in his fight against Neji and Choji, but he stood alone. There was still no sign of the gross black things he had used against him the last time.

The hard glint in his eyes as he and Sasuke, along with Ino’s hyenas, joined the fray, said that was going to change very soon.

Naruto was expecting it though, so he and the hyenas were the only ones who held up the charge when the first writhing mass erupted from the strange scars on the man’s back. Sasuke, Neji, and Choji couldn’t help but hesitate.

He didn’t even need hand signs for his wind blade anymore, and one sliced clean through the thing’s heart before it could do more than open its creepy mouth. The hyenas followed the man’s spacing jump and latched on to his legs.

Naruto knew first-hand that those jaws could break bones.

The man didn’t even flinch.

The rest of the masses, and the man himself did not go down as easily as that first one.

Three entities with their own heart and elemental jutsu, and the original man were left to face the group.

Naruto and Ino’s hyenas maintained the assault on the original, but Ino could not get an opening like she had with the white-haired man. The blonde resigned himself to pinning the man down until one of the other’s could take out their opponent and help.

Neji took his down first. Naruto only glanced over to see it by chance. He decided that a Hyuuga with a sword was one of the most terrifying things he’d ever seen. The Hyuuga prodigy performed a complex spinning maneuver that was clearly based in the Gentle Fist, and the Jinchuuriki could only wonder how he executed it without cutting himself.

The entity he was facing seemed as equally entranced because it didn’t try to dodge until it was far too late.

Neji was clearly winded but only paused long enough to take two deep breaths before he was racing for Naruto.

Choji took out his opponent moments later after slipping into sage mode. Instead of joining the two on the main body, he turned to help Sasuke.

Sasuke’s entity was spitting lightning at him. It made the thing faster than the others and the Uchiha was having trouble keeping up. He also couldn’t do much damage with his own Raiton, and his Katon were too slow.

Naruto was forced to look away to dodge and fell back into the rhythm of his fight. Two hyenas were forced to end their summons due to damage, which left only three to help them.

The man was better at evasion than the entities because he didn’t fall for the same complicated maneuver that Neji had used on the gross thing. The man made dodging it look _easy_.

Naruto could only agree with Kurama’s cursing in the back of his head.

For someone who was supposed to be a one-man army, he was having a lot of trouble with just one man.

With a growl of frustration, Kurama fed Naruto a third tail.

As if they had planned it, Neji spun out of Naruto’s path as the blonde launched forward. The hyenas latched on one last time. The man was delayed just enough for Naruto to shove his hand, Rasengan swirling an ominous purple in his hand, straight through his chest. The blonde morbidly thought back to the time Kakashi had saved them from Kimimaru.

As Neji spun out of Naruto’s path, he released his katana to hurl it with unerring accuracy straight into the lone surviving entity’s heart. It had spun at the same time Naruto lunged, no doubt to get its heart back to the original. Instead, it moved directly into the blade’s path.

Naruto yanked his arm out with a sickening squelch.

* * *

Utakata had been running from the two men for two days straight with no rest in between. They’d been ruthless and powerful, and his only chance would have been to lose control of his Bijuu.

The group of young shinobi that included only one Jounin had taken them down in less than half an hour.

Now he was following them back to their village as they dragged along the other man whose head was still separated from his body. _And still talking_.

The girl had long since shoved the head in a bag so that all they could hear was muffled mumbling. But heads _weren’t supposed to talk_ after they were decapitated.

Shinobi also weren’t supposed to take missing ninja back to their village.

None of the kids – because for all that they had beaten opponents Utakata could not, the oldest was only 16 – seemed all that concerned.

He was left to wonder why they wanted him to come back with them at all. The blonde admitted with laughable ease to having a demon inside him, but didn’t he know that he was risking war by bringing a second Jinchuuriki into his village?!

The boy had laughed away his concern, and the light brown-haired boy wasn’t even paying attention to them, but the other three? They gave him curious looks that he couldn’t decipher.

“Who would want to go to war with a village that has **_two_** Jinchuuriki?”

It had been a throw away comment as the boy turned away from him, but Utakata had been blown away. The boy was either incredibly stupid, incredibly naïve, or incredibly brave. It was very disconcerting that the Jinchuuriki of the Rokubi no Namekuji couldn’t tell which it was.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, let me know how I did with the action. Was it good? Horrible? So-so? Tell me what you did and didn't like about it and any advice you might have on how to fix it! 
> 
> But yes, sorry little girl that was traveling with Utakata whose name I don't remember in the slightest. You're dead. I didn't even remember she existed until my brother got to that arc and came up to ask me a question about her and I stared at him blankly in confusion. Also, apparently Utakata's arc is filler? Too bad. I want to use him. But I didn't want his apprentice. Sorry not sorry. 
> 
> Please give a moment of peace for Kakuzu. He shall be missed. Hidan, is not yet dead. He will be interrogated, hence why they're carrying his body and still talking head with them. I haven't decided if he'll ultimately live or die yet. So stay tuned!
> 
> Finally, next chapter will likely be a lot of exposition. Some of the behind the scenes plotting will start coming together, and some characters have los of splainin' to do. It might be more dialogue heavy than previous chapters, but will probably answer some of your burning questions (do you guys have any of those?). 
> 
> I've been on a Naruto kick lately, so my motivation is high! I hope it stays that way! I would link in some of the stories I've been reading, but I don't know how (if you do, can you tell me? pretty please?) and there would be too many to list anyway. If you're really interested, check out my bookmarks! They're some of the most recently bookmarked ones. 
> 
> Ok, I'm really going now! Bye! Until next time!


	10. Part Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn what Shikamaru knows. Finally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! But I managed to get a chapter out to you before my real life gets hectic. :) It's not quite as long as I was hoping to make it for you, but it is still longer than my normal chapters seem to be as of late. So bonus! Also, you know I tend to update this in binges. I'm sure I'll have another chapter out before Friday. (I hope)
> 
> Achievement: First Negative Comment/Review
> 
> Soo....I have my first hater. I am equal parts amused an annoyed by it. It was mostly just ranting about how much this sucks and how terrible this writing style is, but they did mention a few things that I would like to address for world building purposes. It is a bit long, so instead of cluttering the beginning here, I'm putting it at the end. :) None of it is all that plot relevant, so if you don't want to read it, I won't be offended. But if you do read it, and have anymore information about anything I bring up, please let me know in the comments! 
> 
> On that note, please enjoy!

_“Who would want to go to war with a village that has_ **two** _Jinchuuriki?”_

_It had been a throw away comment as the boy turned away from him, but Utakata had been blown away. The boy was either incredibly stupid, incredibly naïve, or incredibly brave. It was very disconcerting that the Jinchuuriki of the Rokubi no Namekuji couldn’t tell which it was._

* * *

Sasuke didn’t understand why they couldn’t put the talking head in a bounty scroll like they did with the body. It didn’t shut up.

Sure, Ino claimed that the bounty scrolls were designed for corpses and putting the head that was still technically alive in it may end up killing it. Which would defeat the purpose of them carrying the head back at all.

Sasuke called bullshit. They had Naruto with them. He could easily alter the bounty scroll’s seal to prevent that. Or make up a new seal entirely. But apparently, he was the only one bothered by the stupid thing’s incessant screaming and was thus outvoted.

He didn’t think it was fair that he also had to be the one to carry the damn thing. If it took much longer to get back to Konoha, he was going to murder them all in their sleep.

When the village gates came into view, Shikamaru was there waiting for them with a hyena seated at his feet. Sasuke didn’t know when Ino managed to send off one of her summons, but he wasn’t surprised. His relief at being able to rid himself of the talking head was barely dented by the thought that there was probably a good reason for Shikamaru to be waiting for them.

Sasuke unslung the offending bag that was _still_ making noise and tossed it at the Nara’s chest.

“That’s all yours.”

* * *

Shikamaru had almost everything he needed to finally take down Danzo.

Initially it was important that everyone be kept as far away from everything as possible for plausible deniability. Ino was his right hand in it out of necessity; he needed her to gather most of the intel. But even _she_ didn’t know everything. But if they were going to start throwing accusations, everyone needed to be prepared.

Danzo would not go down quietly or peacefully. He needed everyone to know everything so they’d be aware of the full extent to which they could be in danger. It was time he clued in Naruto and Sasuke.

Itachi was on his way to the village and it would be cruel to blindside them.

Of course, this meant they had to add to his stress by brining back a prisoner. Torture and Interrogation might be run by Inoichi, but until they’d taken down Danzo, they couldn’t be sure there weren’t agents planted there to sabotage information. It would be up to them to handle this.

* * *

Naruto could feel the tension as soon as they stepped into the village.

It was enough that Kurama stopped his steady grumbling. It did not let up as Naruto stood in the Hokage’s office with Neji to report on their trip.

Naruto couldn’t help glancing over at the couches periodically throughout his report on the exam’s proceedings. The same three old people that had tried to keep him from the exam were seated on or standing around them. Naruto had the feeling that Neji was doing the same and just didn’t have to actually turn his head or move his eyes thanks to his Byakugan.

Neji was there as team leader to report on the rest of the trip. The others were lucky enough to be able to go home and change before meeting with Shikamaru and the rest.

Thinking about what Shikamaru had to tell them made him equal parts nervous and excited. He had to focus intently on what Neji was saying to keep any of it from showing.

Though, Neji left out several important facts from his report.

The way the Team Leader told it, they had an uneventful journey to the exam and their stay in the village was unremarkable. True. Nothing happened going there or in the village aside from being approached by their Jinchuuriki. But Neji didn’t bring that up.

On the way back they encountered a team of two from the Akatsuki. Neji gave a brief, bare-bones summary of their abilities and the fight itself. They’d been attacked and had handled it. Both were defeated with one being left in pieces. Again, true. Just not the whole truth. They both _had_ been defeated, but only one of them was dead. Neji mentioned nothing about the fact the one left in pieces was _still alive_ and had been brought back for interrogation.

Naruto wasn’t sure why Neji was being so careful with the wording of his report and making sure that while he didn’t outright lie, he was also omitting key facts. But he wasn’t going to contradict him.

Neji left out one final important piece of information. He said nothing about Utakata being a Jinchuuriki. Naruto could feel the other vessel’s surprise from where he was standing behind them. The blonde turned to give the man a grin when he was mentioned as an excuse to take a look at his expression. The older man did a good job of hiding his surprise, and right on cue, gave Naruto a sheepish look in response to the grin.

Utakata played along. His student had been killed in the Akatsuki’s attack and the white-haired man – the one in pieces now – had chased him relentlessly. He was lucky to have run into Naruto and Neji’s group when he did. The looks shared among the old farts and Tsunade suggested they were inferring that Utakata’s student had been the Jinchuuriki. Even Naruto could decipher that.

When all three were dismissed, Utakata with an appointment to report to T&I in three days, Kurama grumbled about the leniency of the current Hokage. Even if Naruto and Neji and their whole team vouched for Utakata, the man should have been questioned and interrogated the same day he was brought to the village. Naruto couldn’t bring himself to disagree despite being happy about the call.

Kurama also admitted that it was likely irrelevant _when_ he was interrogated because Saiken would be protecting the man’s mind. All the Bijuu could offer that protection to their hosts, but few opted to follow through. Saiken was particularly good at it, for all his other faults Kurama complained about relentlessly.

Naruto sighed at the sight of three hyenas waiting patiently for them outside Hokage Tower. It would seem they wouldn’t be getting a chance to change before the meeting. Naruto hoped they didn’t care that he smelled.

“It would appear they would like you to come with, Utakata-san.”

Naruto was glad Neji was with. He wouldn’t have picked up on that.

“Why?”

“I suppose we shall find out.”

* * *

As crowded as the space was, Shikamaru knew it was the only place that wouldn’t be suspicious to see any and all of them coming and going from. It also wouldn’t be suspicious that whatever went on behind the walls and closed door couldn’t be spied on.

Hatake Kakashi was notorious for warding his home with seals and traps.

He wasn’t looking forward to the several difficult conversations that were coming, but knew they were necessary. They couldn’t put it off too much longer before Danzo would catch on that something was wrong.

Everyone was just settling in when Naruto burst through the door with an obnoxious burst of chakra and Neji and the new Jinchuuriki on his heels. He immediately began complaining about not having a chance to shower before heading over, so Shikamaru waved them off towards Kakashi’s bathroom without even asking the man for permission.

They were still waiting on one important guest before they could start. They had the time.

* * *

Shisui remained next to the window for far longer than he should have, secure under a Genjutsu with the knowledge that Kakashi was aware of his presence. He listened to the group talk and rib each other while the blonde Jinchuuriki and two others cleaned up.

He waited where he was until everyone had returned and began to settle. He waited until he felt the weight of both Kakashi and the Nara looking at the window.

Sasuke’s back was to him.

He slipped in through the window and pressed a hand to the sill to activate the extra security seals they’d put into place just a few days ago before he could lose his nerve.

The muted activity froze at his appearance.

“Yo!”

Shisui made sure to exaggerate his grin, closing his eyes with the force of it for added effect. His greeting was carefully blasé and carefree.

He noted the exact moment that Sasuke recognized him. It impressed him all the more that his little cousin recognized him after all these years by just his _voice_.

He wasn’t surprised when he was suddenly the focus of two blazing Sharingan eyes. It was obvious they were searching for a Genjutsu, disbelieving the sight in front of them. Shisui opened his only eye to meet the gaze with his own activated and let his smile soften to something more genuine.

“Hello, Sasuke-chan. It’s been a while.”

Kakashi’s presence at his side was bracing, but Shisui didn’t know if the man would intervene should Sasuke choose to attack. Rather, Shisui didn’t know whether the man would intervene for his old teammate, or for his student.

(Shisui knew exactly who Kakashi would help if a true fight broke out. But would do his damnedest to keep that from happening.)

The Nara, Inuzuka, and Aburame watched the stare-off with resignation (Nara), amusement (Inuzuka), and what looked like apathy (Aburame). None of them showed any intention of intervening in the matter at all.

There was a blonde girl he was sure was a Yamanaka who was eyeing him suspiciously, and next to her was a girl with rare pink hair that looked at him with shocked recognition. Interesting. He didn’t recognize her in turn and was interested in how she seemed to know him.

Neither of the Hyuga were surprised to see him. They both remained relaxed. The girl was obviously curious. The boy appeared bored, but had his hand resting subtly on the hilt of a katana. Next to them, a girl he couldn’t place in a clan had startled and withdrew several weapons from somewhere even his Sharingan couldn’t track.

The stranger that arrived with the male Hyuga and the blonde Jinchuuriki just looked confused. In contrast the blonde Jinchuurki and the boy dressed in eye-searing green were the most visibly disturbed by his entrance. Though, Shisui suspected the blonde’s reaction was being influenced by Sasuke’s.

“You were expecting him?”

It was said like a question but clearly meant as a statement directed at the Nara. It had Shisui spinning to his right, caught by rare surprise. Leaning against the wall directly next to the window was a large boy who was clearly from the Akimichi clan. He stuffed a handful of chips into his mouth immediately after speaking, but his eyes were still on Shisui.

“Yes.”

The Nara’s response finally drew Sasuke’s gaze off of Shisui.

“There’s a lot we need to cover and Shisui’s part in it is probably a good of place of any to start.”

Well. That was probably his cue.

Sasuke’s Sharingan was still active but was no longer spinning. The other Uchiha shifted backwards away from Shisui and closer to the group.

“Hi, I’m Uchiha Shisui. According to village records, I died about 10 years ago.”

* * *

Explaining that night was so much harder than Shisui expected.

He expected it to be difficult. For it to open up wounds that hadn’t ever really healed. But it was _so much_ harder than that.

Shisui had tried to commit suicide. Had died, _killed **himself**_ , for the sake of his family, his clan, his village. He had given everything he had to personally give. And it was all for **_nothing_**.

His clan was dead. Massacred by the cousin he cared so much about. His village was rotting from the roots up.

He jumped off that cliff into the river below with the intent of never getting back out.

He didn’t intend to wake up on the shore groggy and disoriented and not entirely sure who he even was. He didn’t know the date and he didn’t know where he was. Hell, he didn’t even know if it had been day or night when he woke up. _He didn’t have any eyes_ **.** He was **blind**.

They asked him how he’d survived the river, of course they did. But he didn’t know. He didn’t know how he managed to avoid drowning. He’d lost consciousness the moment he hit the water.

But he knew how he survived after that.

He hadn’t been alone on the shore. Someone had fished him out of the water.

At the time, he didn’t know who they were. He was so delirious from pain, the loss of his site, and a fever that was trying to finish what the river, what _he_ started. At the time, he didn’t _care_ who they were.

Being lucid didn’t help him any because his chakra sense was shit back then. Being blind is what helped him develop it. But he could tell that it was a woman that had saved him. Two of them, actually. They had seen his body floating down the river when they were stopped to make camp and pulled him out when they realized he was still alive.

They said he was lucky they were both medics.

Shisui was still in his ANBU uniform when he jumped.

“Tsunade.”

Shisui would have winked at the pinkette if he had both eyes.

“I can’t say for sure it was her. But I don’t know who else it could have been. With the state I was in, very few could have saved me.”

“How did Danzo beat you?”

Shisui grimaced at Sasuke’s blunt, borderline accusatory tone. He opened his mouth to respond but stopped because…

“I don’t know.”

* * *

“Danzo has had those bandages on his face from before he attacked you.”

Shikamaru glanced around the room as he waited for his words to sink in. Shisui and Kakashi looked at him sharply. He could see several others looking at him in interest, aware he was insinuating something but unsure of what.

“Wait, this Danzo bastard is that old guy?!”

Shikamaru winced at Naruto’s shout, thankful Shisui had activated the seals the moment he entered.

“Danzo is an elder on the Council.”

Hinata cut in patiently before anyone could snap at the blonde for not knowing something no one had bothered to explain to him. Naruto frowned but accepted the information and turned his attention back to Shikamaru.

The Nara heir dropped a file on the small table in the center of the room. He heard Ino whistle from her place across the table. The file had been much smaller the last time she had seen it. In fact, the file was only as big as it was because Shikamaru was so good at piecing together seemingly unrelated bits of information. Because Ino and Sakura were so good at finding the information he asked for and _more_.

“He stole a Doujutsu prior to confronting you. He knew he couldn’t beat you without a trump card.”

Shikamaru looked up at the stranger – the Jinchuuriki – at the observation. The tension in the room, already thick enough to chafe, grew suddenly denser. The Hyuga and Sasuke visibly furious. The Clan Heirs and children angry and nauseous.

“Uchiha Kagami.”

Shikamaru felt just a bit of guilt at dropping so many bombshells on so many people all at once. And they weren’t even done yet.

Shisui physically recoiled away from the file before he could finish reaching for it.

“What?”

His voice wavered and cracked. The question was barely audible.

Shikamaru reclined back into his seat, prepared to tell a story he had to piece together piece by painstaking piece. Ino opened the file and began skimming it as he spoke.

“Shisui’s grandfather, Uchiha Kagami, was an ambassador to Konoha’s ally village, Uzushiogakure. He travelled between the two frequently, often spending weeks to months in Uzushio at a time.”

“Uzushiogakure was attacked at the end of the Second Shinobi War. During the attack, Uchiha Kagami attempted to get word to Konoha to request reinforcements. He was ambushed and killed en route. His body was discovered later. That file has proof that the ambush was orchestrated by Konoha shinobi, likely ROOT agents under the orders of Danzo.”

“There are two autopsy reports for Uchiha Kagami.”

Shikamaru nodded his thanks at Sakura for taking over. She would be able to explain the findings better.

“One autopsy fits with the story of the ambush. He had numerous injuries, most of which were defensive. Cause of death is listed as exsanguination secondary to several stab wounds to vital arteries. Blood loss. The other autopsy report lists cause of death as exsanguination as well. But this one has it listed as secondary to his throat being slit. This one shows far fewer defensive wounds but mentions his missing eyes. I’m sure you can all figure out which one is public.”

The room was silent after the medic finished her miniature report.

“It’s unclear who exactly attacked Uzushio as no one has taken any official credit for it. However, the best theory is that it was an alliance between Kirigakure and Kumogakure.”

Ino looked up sharply at that but Shikamaru ignored her for the moment.

“Uzushio’s largest and main clan was the Uzumaki clan who were, in turn, known for their longevity and knowledge of Fuinjutsu.”

Naruto bobbed his head once in acknowledgement. He knew that already. It was why he’d taken a team out to the ruins to harvest the scrolls.

“Their knowledge was widely respected. But it was also just as _feared_. The attack was likely done to prevent them from providing aid to Konoha, and as a preemptive strike to keep them from ever leading an attack of their own. The files that Shisui liberated from ROOT show that the attack on Uzushio was not as unprovoked as history would have us believe.”

* * *

Naruto snapped his gaze up to meet Shikamaru’s eyes. Kurama’s continuous rumbling fell eerily silent.

Naruto wasn’t the smartest person in the room. That easily went to Shikamaru. In fact, Naruto would argue he was probably the slowest in the room when it came to these things. But even he could hear what Shikamaru wasn’t say.

“Danzo.”

Shikamaru tilted his head in acquiescence.

Naruto’s clan had been slaughtered. Konoha was supposed to be their ally and instead they killed them.

_“This is sounding a lot like the Uchiha.”_

Naruto sucked in a breath at Kurama’s angry musing. The blonde looked over at Sasuke and Shisui in blatant horror.

“He killed the Uchiha too, didn’t he?”

Sasuke flinched at the news, shocked into dropping his Sharingan. Shisui closed his eye and sighed. Shikamaru continued to stare at the file for several long moments before he spoke again.

“Yes. The Uchiha massacre was a mission ordered by Danzo and given to Uchiha Itachi.”

Naruto reached out to anchor Sasuke with a firm hand on his shoulder. His Sharingan was spinning again, faster than Naruto had yet to see it.

“I had Sakura pull a few additional reports after she pulled Kagami’s, Shisui’s, and Danzo’s. It isn’t mentioned outright anywhere, and I don’t think even Danzo picked up on it, but there is evidence that someone else was present for the massacre. Uchiha Itachi didn’t do it alone. Actually, it appears as though he killed far fewer than the accomplice.”

Naruto frowned. That didn’t make sense.

* * *

Shisui frowned at the news that Itachi hadn’t been alone in slaughtering their clan. He didn’t know whether to be reassured or not.

“Who?”

There were very few who would have the necessary skills. No one Itachi trusted would have agreed to it. But Itachi wouldn’t have asked someone he didn’t trust.

* * *

Shikamaru sighed loudly and rubbed the top of his head in a rare display of frustration.

“I don’t know.”

The admission was hard to make. Because he had looked. _He had **looked**_. But no matter where he poked and prodded nothing fell out. There wasn’t any scrap of information about the mysterious accomplice for him to unravel and stitch back together until he could see the full picture.

Shikamaru never pretended to have all the answers. But this was an answer they _needed,_ and he _didn’t have it._

The room fell silent again as everyone took in everything they’d learned. Shikamaru catalogued everything _again_ as he waited for them to process.

Danzo ordered the Uchiha massacre after attacking Shisui and stealing an eye. Shisui had given the other to Itachi before jumping into the Naka River from a cliff to commit suicide.

Only he didn’t die, and two medics that were likely Tsunade and Shizune saved him. He had no doubt the Uchiha had fled as soon as he was physically able to avoid answering questions.

(Tsunade, if it _had_ been her, was a Sannin and had to have decided to _let_ him go.)

What gave Danzo the edge he needed to hold Shisui long enough to take an eye, was the eye he already had from Kagami, Shisui’s grandfather. He stole _that_ eye in an orchestrated ambush in which he had to have taken advantage of Kagami’s trust in him.

The attack on Uzushio was suspicious with evidence insinuating that it had also been sparked by Danzo. He had his theory as to who had been involved in the attack in regard to other villages, but no solid proof.

Shikamaru blinked.

Ino had given him a look when he mentioned Kumo could have been involved in Uzushio’s fall.

Ino just returned from accompanying Naruto to Kumo for his exam.

“What did you manage to find while you were in Kumo?”

Shikamaru cut through the silence as he looked up to meet Ino’s smirk.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

* * *

Kakashi was a former ANBU Captain. He had been involved in most of Konoha’s seedy missions.

After discovering Tenzo and ROOT, Kakashi was sure he knew everything about the dark underbelly of the village.

The letter from Itachi was only the tip of the iceberg of information he _didn’t_ know.

Shikamaru was impressive for being able to decipher and piece together obscure facts and seemingly unrelated events to form a cohesive big picture.

They would all be very busy.

Danzo had a lot to pay for. But judging from the expressions around him, the group didn’t plan to stop with him.

It appeared that Kumogakure had a lot to answer for.

One day he would ask Ino how she gets her intelligence. One day.

His attention was drawn outwards at a spike in his barrier seal. Someone was knocking.

“Our final guest is here.”

* * *

Sasuke wasn’t even surprised when Itachi walked through the door.

He was surprised he used the door, but he wasn’t surprised he was there. Not after all the revelations.

He was thankful he had so many friends. He was more thankful they knew him so well. Naruto had a bracing hand on his shoulder that was growing painfully tight in its grip, signifying that Naruto was trying just as hard as Sasuke to remain still.

Choji pushed off from the wall, moving for the first time that night to place himself next to, but slightly in front of Naruto. Hinata and Lee were immediately at Sasuke’s side and back. Kiba was lounging on the floor directly between them, balanced to strike as only the Inuzuka and Hatake could in such a position.

“Nii-san.”

He hadn’t meant to speak. Naruto’s hand tightened. Akamaru barked.

“I’m so sorry, Sasuke.”

Sasuke **_broke_**.

* * *

Obito was _seething_.

Kakuzu and Hidan had been beaten. Kakuzu was dead and Hidan was either dead or captive and neither was good for them.

They’d lost the Rokubi again. It could be anywhere and without Zetsu spying for them, they had no way of knowing which way it went.

And now Itachi was gone.

Kisame was doing a good job of projecting boredom in his report, but Obito could see the man was angry.

Obito knew Itachi wasn’t like the other members. He hadn’t chosen to become a missing ninja like they had. He’d been forced into it.

Obito hadn’t trusted Itachi but he hadn’t expected him to just up and defect.

_Everything was **falling apart**!_

Pein, Konan, and Kisame were the only pawns he had left.

It was irritating to watch Pein disregard the news of Kakuzu and Hidan’s defeat but react to Itachi’s defection. As if the thought that any of them weren’t as committed as him had never occurred to him. As if he’d forgotten Orochimaru had done something similar.

It was irritating but it was useful. Obito had an idea as to where their wayward Uchiha had gone. And Pein was finally, _finally_ realizing the position they were in.

Konoha and their fucking Uzumaki Jinchuuriki would **_fall_**.

The Kyuubi no Kitsune would be taken by the full might of the remaining Akatsuki.

Obito grinned behind his mask as he followed behind the others.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to this episode of world building! Inspired by my first hater. I was initially amused when I first read the comment and was confused as to why they were so bothered by everything, but the more I thought about it in my attempt at answering them, the more I was annoyed. Mostly cause it was just a rant with all the criticism but none of the constructive. But anyway! I have the issues separated. Please let me know any thoughts or info you have on any of it. But keep in mind, this story is AU, so canon kind of doesn't matter? If I decide to change something, that's my prerogative
> 
> Senjutsu: Ok, so, my hater claims that senjutsu is an art that ONLY the toads know. I call bullshit, personally. I don't remember it ever being stated that the toads were the only ones who know it. And if they are, why? That doesn't make sense. But as evidence to the contrary, I'm like, 99% certain that Hashirama was a sage. He had the face markings and everything didn't he? And he certainly was unrelated to the toads. So right there is evidence to the contrary. If Hashirama was a sage, you can bet that someone took notes about Senjutsu (likely Tobirama, the nerd) and therefore a scroll would exist for Ino to find. But also, even if the toads are the only ones who know senjutsu/can teach it, and I am mistaken about Hashirama, this is AU? So....my world, my rules. And I'm pretty sure there are other sage animals. Like, it's mostly just gathering nature chakra and balancing it with your own chakra, right? 
> 
> Summoning Scrolls: So, I admit to not knowing much about these. I figure they work in one of two ways. 1.) When the last contractor dies they return to the summoning world to be given out at their discretion. However it is they go about doing that. Or 2.) When the last contractor dies, the scroll remains wherever it was last until it is found and signed by someone else. I picture a combination of the two. Sage animal summoning scrolls probably return (they do in this world) to the summoning world to be given out at their discretion, but regular summoning scrolls stay where they were dropped/left/hidden. Ino's hyenas are not sage animals. I never intended for them to be. They don't even talk. So, when their previous summoner died, the scroll was left where it laid. (I imagine it was an enemy shinobi). It was gathered and stored because no one wanted/could sign it for whatever reason, and once in storage it was promptly forgotten about, allowing her to find it. 
> 
> Ino finding everything: Yeah, this was mostly plot armor. Above explains how the stuff exists to be found, and her finding it is my way of making her a badass. That's it. She's just that good, partly without realizing it at first. 
> 
> Writing style: This was a big part of their short rant and I just want to point out that I have no intention of changing it for this work. I figure if you have a big enough issue with it, you'll just stop reading it. 
> 
> The End! 
> 
> Tune in next time! :)


	11. Part Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The suspense builds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY!!
> 
> I'm so sorry that you all had to wait so long for an update, and yet all I'm giving you is this measly 1700 word chapter. But the ending just seemed so fitting a place to stop it so that I could put all of the next....arc? Section? in one chapter for you, otherwise it would have stopped in the middle and that would be no fun. You'll understand when you get to the end. 
> 
> In regards to the delay, real life has been.....well, a bitch. Between getting a new job, starting said job, TRAINING for said job, being released on my own in the new job, and then going to yet MORE training specific to my site/unit. And that's just work. There's also applying to PA school (whose applications I STILL haven't submitted - which I really should), taking an online statistics course for PA school, and most recently, my brother being admitted to the ICU (no, not COVID related, thankfully), it's been kind of crazy for me, and my motivation to write has been zero. But on top of all of that, I've had massive writer's block. I sat down to write at one point and realized I'd already typed up the first POV for this chapter back when I thought I would have it finished and posted within a few days of the last chapter and it messed up what I'd planned to write, but I didn't want to take it out. So I just closed the document and took forever to come back. 
> 
> You can thank the new Enola Holmes movie out on Netflix for this I suppose. I watched the movie, began looking up Sherlock Holmes fanfiction, ended up not being in the mood to read fiction, so I opened up a Marvel story I'm working on (not published at all yet) but abruptly decided I wanted to work on something else. I thought I'd get at least a couple POV's on this down but then got to the last one and went "that's a really good line to end this on" and well.....you know the rest. 
> 
> But enough about me! Go ahead and read the chapter. And have a kudos for making it this far in the author's note. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it despite how short it is!
> 
> P.S. I make no promises on getting out another chapter in a few days like I did last chapter, but this has been day 1 of 3 off for me, so fingers crossed I can get you the next one before I do 5 in a row at work. (I work in healthcare so 5 days in a row is a lot; don't laugh at me those of you who do that normally..... -_- )

_Konoha and their fucking Uzumaki Jinchuuriki would **fall**._

_The Kyuubi no Kitsune would be taken by the full might of the remaining Akatsuki._

_Obito grinned behind his mask as he followed behind the others._

* * *

“Senpai.”

Tenzo looked over at the pale boy at his side.

“What is this?”

Tenzo turned back to what had caught his kohai’s attention.

“It’s a head.”

“Why is it still talking?”

Tenzo smiled. He had it on good authority that it wasn’t nice or reassuring.

“I don’t know, Sai. But it’ll be very useful.”

“Fuck you! Get the fuck away from me you creepy motherfucker!”

Tenzo wasn’t sure what Kakashi-senpai was up to. But he guessed it was related to why he had been looking for the records room. He wasn’t going to let the man down. If the prisoner was being entrusted to them instead of T&I, it had to be for a good reason.

He was thankful that Sai was unperturbed by his humming as he finished painting the final seal around the head.

When Kakashi-senpai got back to them, he was going to make sure he had at least something to tell him.

“Let’s get started, shall we?”

* * *

Zetsu didn’t trust Orochimaru. But his careful planning had fallen apart at the seams and he needed the man’s help. He wasn’t going to tell the Sannin everything, that would be _stupid_ , but he needed to tell him just enough. Just enough to catch the man’s interest.

Using the Uchiha and Uzumaki brats would be ideal, but unnecessary. The previous incarnations were still accessible if one knew where to look.

Orochimaru could find the Shodaime Hokage. More specifically, he could _get to_ the Shodaime. He’d done it before, and it was the _only_ reason Zetsu had approached him at all.

While Orochimaru was busy with that, he was going back to Madara. For this to work, and it _had_ to work, he would need DNA and residual chakra signatures from both men.

Whatever else Orochimaru got up to afterwards was none of Zetsu’s business.

So long as the man held up his side of the bargain.

* * *

Orochimaru grinned to himself as he walked up to the dilapidated shrine on the outskirts of Konoha. The building was long forgotten and served his purposes perfectly.

Zetsu didn’t trust Orochimaru, that was perfectly clear. But Orochimaru didn’t need the plant to _trust_ him. He just needed him to _believe_ him just long enough. It was a dangerous game. The Sannin knew he was being manipulated in return. He _knew_ where his own shortcomings lay when it came to playing the long game. Thankfully, this particular game wouldn’t be very long.

He allowed himself a grin as he plucked a mask off the wall. One no different from all the others around it. The one he needed.

He couldn’t complete his scheme here. It was far enough from Konoha that it was no longer included within their security barrier. Laughable it may be to someone of his caliber. But it was still close enough that someone would be able to detect him as he performed the ritual.

It was a good thing Kabuto was so gifted an actor. Stalling Zetsu would be child’s play to the medic.

And after convincing the Akatsuki member he would need more clones – _legitimate_ clones, not mere chakra constructs – than he actually did meant fewer eyes watching them. The clones were not easy to make. The plant clearly expected to get them back.

The five clones stood obediently behind him as he slipped on the mask.

* * *

Jiraiya watched the village warily. Something wasn’t right. The air itself felt different from his last visit.

The streets were crowded as everyone swarmed outside to enjoy and make use of one of the rare days without any rain. The sun was surprisingly bright in the area when it wasn’t covered by clouds.

Jiraiya stopped in his tracks and jerked his head up to look at the sun. He cursed as he blinked spots from his vision. He didn’t bother to linger or look any further. Instead he spun on his heel and sprinted away, ignoring the strange and suspicious looks he got as he went.

_The streets were crowded._

_The sun was shining._

**_There was no_ ** **_rain._**

The air felt different because it _was_ different.

Pein – _the Akatsuki_ – were no longer in Ame.

Jiraiya was an old man. But he was still one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha.

He pushed himself to go faster.

* * *

Shikamaru divided everyone into groups. Everyone was in the loop now, but that didn’t mean he wanted everyone working on the same thing.

Sakura and Ino were to report to the coordinates Kakashi provided when asked where he had stashed the prisoner. Shikamaru wasn’t fond of the idea that the Jounin had included two others in the secret, but did acknowledge the necessity. Sakura and Ino were to extract as much information from the prisoner as they could. Or whatever information was left. Kakashi seemed confident that those he’d been left with would already have all of or, at least, most of the important information.

Shikamaru sent Sasuke with them, too. The younger Uchiha clearly couldn’t be in close proximity to either of the older ones at the moment. It also allowed him to send more muscle with the girls just to have his bases covered.

Shino and Neji were placed on Danzo. They were to monitor the man everywhere he went. They needed to know if he would interfere before they were ready. They would also need to know where he was when they finally were.

Shisui, the oldest Uchiha, was going to sabotage ROOT and set traps throughout the village. Shikamaru placed Tenten and Hinata on him. Tenten’s sealing knowledge would help with laying traps. Hinata’s Byakugan would prevent them from losing track of the man. Shikamaru might have believed him, but he didn’t trust him.

Kakashi, Naruto, and Choji were sent to the Uchiha Compound with Itachi. The man couldn’t exactly wander the village. But the compound hadn’t been monitored since the massacre. There was no reason to watch a place where no one lived. This would also allow the man to read and translate the remaining tablets and scrolls that Sasuke had yet to be able to decipher.

Needless to say, Shikamaru didn’t trust him either. He was willing to work with the man, but he would do nothing else until Sasuke had rendered his verdict. Regardless of whatever outcome their plans would yield.

That left himself, Lee, and Kiba in reserve. Neither of the other boys were too pleased with this but accepted their roles regardless. They needed to keep at least a few of them rested in case something happened and someone else had to tag out or needed reinforcements. Kiba would be able to track anyone they lost track of, and Lee would be fast enough to get to wherever a conflict cropped up.

Keeping himself out of the direct conflict allowed Shikamaru a clearer picture of everything that they were doing. _He_ had to focus on planning and bringing things together.

Besides, a Nara being more active than they needed to for assignments and mandatory training would raise far more suspicions. Even for Shikamaru who had proved early on that he wasn’t like most Nara.

No. For now, he would remain in the shadows.

There really was no better place for him to be.

* * *

Kabuto grinned at the open casket in front of him, raised from the earth.

He wondered how long it would take Zetsu to realize he had disturbed the grave the plant had been so careful to keep hidden.

He wondered if Zetsu would ever guess _he_ was the one who disturbed it.

* * *

Hidan didn’t put up much of a fight for his information about the Akatsuki. He didn’t give a shit about the organization, so why should he endure torture of any kind for them? Besides, it’s not like Pein every told him anything besides who he was being sent to kill. Kakuzu would have been the better one of their pair to take alive.

He told them as much.

Their looks of annoyance when he folded so quickly made it all worth it.

It was even better when the fucking blonde girl from the fight ransacked his head just to confirm what he’d already told them. Even if it left him with a killer migraine.

He was just warming up to his latest ranting provocation when the first raindrop hit his forehead. It startled him enough hat he stopped abruptly in the middle of a word to squint up at the sky. The sky he could have sworn was all sun a moment ago.

“Uh, you get sudden storms a lot?” If his voice held a hint of trepidation, it was no one’s fucking business. The blonde and brunette from the fight, and the girl with pink hair just stared at him at the sudden change of topic. The other brunette teen looked at him curiously. The Jounin, and only adult, really, looked at the sky with concern.

“No.”

Ah. Well. Then Hidan was a dead man. He was sure that if anyone could find a way to kill him, it was Pein.

“Well, fuck me.”

* * *

They hadn’t been at the compound for very long and Itachi hadn’t even gotten through the first item Shikamaru wanted translated when the rain started. As soon as the first drops hit the ground, Itachi was moving.

He hadn’t spent much time in Ame, but everyone had been there long enough to recognize when rain wasn’t natural.

His sudden movement immediately drew the attention of his guards. Naruto and the Akimichi dropped into defensive positions with Naruto between him and the door. But Kakashi wasn’t even looking at him. The man was instead looking at the rain. It had been a long time since Itachi was on Hound’s ANBU team, but it hadn’t been so long that he couldn’t read the concern on the man’s face anymore. Especially not when he did nothing to hide it.

“It would seem out plans will have to wait.”

Kakashi didn’t bother explaining any further before ushering everyone out of the compound and through the village.

Itachi appreciated that Kakashi didn’t bother trying to make him stay.

The Nara would be annoyed that Itachi had to reveal his presence so soon, but the Missing Ninja had no doubt the boy already had several contingencies worked out. They would adapt.

But first they would have to win.

* * *

Tsunade cursed as the barrier was breached in several places at once. She cursed again when it fell entirely.

They were under attack.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for that cliffhanger. But I wanted to put the full confrontation into one nice long chapter for you guys. I think you'd hate me more if I had stopped the fighting in the middle instead of like this just before. I am on a 3 day stretch of having off so I'm going to try to get out the next chapter before I do a long stretch of days but I make no guarantees. As such, due to real life issues mentioned above, my updates will likely be slower for a while. With the exception of this chapter I will try my best to make them longer to make up for it. But again, no guarantees. 
> 
> Otherwise remember to mention the why's of what you do and don't like! You don't have to, of course, but I enjoy reading about your reasons. :) 
> 
> Sorry again for the short update and the long wait!

**Author's Note:**

> As previously mentioned, this is my first fiction. I would greatly appreciate constructive feedback. If you don't like something, or if you DO like something, please don't just tell me you do/don't like it, tell me WHY. Ideally, if you don't like it, tell me how I could maybe change it so that you do. I can't promise it will be done for this story, but I can keep it in mind for future ones.


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